Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 42 - 39 Fallen Demon Hunter VS Supernatural Power User 2

Chapter 42: 39 Fallen Demon Hunter VS Supernatural Power User 2

After Evil had rescued me from the dead end, I had made up my mind never go near anything related to the supernatural anymore.

That dead end would surely become the nightmare of my life. I did not want to be trapped in such a horrific predicament again.

Yet, the words of Evil shattered my future plans.

"Looks like you’ve realized the horror of the supernatural. Since that is the case, let me tell you something very important. Consider it a way to mentally prepare yourself for the future."

"...What are you going to say?" I immediately had a bad feeling.

"The moment you accidentally find yourself in a supernatural event, you have already drawn a line between yourself and those ordinary people who know nothing. From now on, it would be best not to expect to live out the rest of your life peacefully," he was possibly reminding me with good intentions, but to me, his words were incredibly cruel, "At Luo Mountain, there’s a saying, encountering the supernatural is akin to forming a bond with it.

"Although Luo Mountain still hasn’t figured out the principle behind this phenomenon, statistics show that people who have experienced supernatural events have a significantly higher chance of encountering them again, almost as if they were cursed.

"Unless you are the legendary Impermanence, who repels Devils, Demons, and evil spirits, you will likely face similar dangers again in the future."

-

Unable to confront or escape, the eerie shadow of the supernatural had already intertwined with my fate.

In such a situation, I had only one choice. Although it was a logical decision, I still spent a lot of effort convincing myself. That was to delve deeper into the supernatural world and learn the techniques to handle these events.

With the help of benevolent Evil, I took a recommendation letter and joined Luo Mountain, where I became a disciple.

Most of the Luoshan Disciples had experiences similar to mine, ordinary people who encountered supernatural events and joined Luo Mountain to learn survival techniques. The standard course lasted four years, although there were exceptions, and the graduates typically headed in one of two directions: one was to become a genuine demon hunter capable of hunting supernatural forces; the other was to become a mere "probe" unable to become a demon hunter.

Just by the name, it was clear that a probe was a consumable at Luo Mountain. Although we called each other "Luoshan agents" outside, whether in Luo Mountain’s view or the probes’ view, they were half-outsiders. Although Luo Mountain would equip agents with safety gear out of obligation, the mortality rate among the agents remained exceedingly high.

I wanted to become a demon hunter, to possess power. Since I was bound to face the supernatural again in the future, I at least wanted to acquire enough means to protect myself. With extreme fear and fervent desire, I absorbed knowledge related to demon hunting like a sponge. Even in the days leading up to my college entrance exams, I had never been so eager to learn.

The reason I was so powerless back then must have been due to my lack of strength. If I had possessed the power to break through that dead end, or even powers like Evil at that time, capable of immune to illusions and slaying evil spirits with a single sword strike, I wouldn’t have been so desperate.

All fears and despair in this world stemmed from the individual’s lack of power.

Yet, I despaired again.

Most of the Luoshan Disciples did not have the talent to become demon hunters, nor did I. Four years passed, and I was still powerless, ultimately returning to the secular world as a probe.

Years and then decades passed...

Nearly twenty years had gone by, a length of time sufficient to change many things. For instance, the Evil who had saved me in the past had now transferred to become a "Patrol," coincidentally becoming my superior.

There were also things that never changed, such as my constant inability to obtain what I desperately wanted.

As a Luoshan agent, I encountered many supernatural events. Relying on caution born out of fear and more importantly, crucial luck, I had not yet died. But the fear in my heart hadn’t faded; I was well aware that my survival up to this point was merely by chance. Colleagues I knew died one after the other in tragic ways, just like the friends who had entered that dead end with me, leaving me alone in an unfathomable darkness.

In the meantime, I had tried to further my education, launching several attempts toward the door that would make me a demon hunter. But the world of talent was exceedingly cruel; you either had it or you didn’t. The door to becoming a demon hunter remained firmly shut.

Perhaps, I would never fulfill my own wishes. One day, I might resurface with regrets and be buried in that darkness.

As I wallowed in such despair, a stranger wearing a silver mask, bearing hope laced with deadly poison, appeared before me.

Having been a Luoshan agent for many years, I had accumulated a vast amount of experience observing the supernatural. Thus, I could tell at a glance that this masked stranger was enveloped in a bizarre and insane aura. Underneath his seemingly rational and confident speech, lurked the face of a madman.

He was a madman, his words should not be trusted, I had to get away from this dangerous man immediately.

But the words he spat out made it impossible for me to refuse.

"Do you want power?"

"...Power?"

"You look like you know what kind of person I am. Similarly, I can see the cowardly face you desperately hide."

"There’s no need to be so angry. It’s natural to fear and want to distance oneself from dangerous things. Just as a well-stocked granary brings knowledge of propriety, and sufficient food and clothing bring knowledge of honor and disgrace, so too does courage. People often think that courage is the companion of the weak—a ridiculous notion spouted by fools brainwashed by peace and order. Courage without power is merely a fool’s self-satisfaction. True courage must be born from power."

"And what I bring you now is the treasure you’ve longed for and sought in vain."

Before my eyes, he took that thing out.

My gaze couldn’t leave it.

"What is this?"

"True courage."

His voice was like the enchanting whisper of a Devil.

-

At last, I accepted the man’s "gift."

He called himself "Weirdo Maker," his real name and origins unknown, his whereabouts ghostlike. And what he gave me was called the "seed of the heart," a bizarre object that could merge with my body and provide power.

While using the power, I would transform into the posture of a sheepheaded demon and could manipulate Shadow Power at will. This power was exceedingly strong, and having just acquired it, I had already surpassed the Bad Level.

Demon hunters generally divided their training into four realms, named "cheng," "zhu," "huai," and "kong," which come from Buddhism’s four stages of the world from creation to apocalypse.

Among them, "kong" corresponds to ordinary people without power. Just as the name suggests, they cannot use any Mana, their bodies equivalent to emptiness itself. Many demon hunters just starting on their training path, who can only manipulate external natural forces but cannot use Mana themselves, are also classified in this grade.

"Huai" corresponds to most demon hunters. Just as people who do not review their knowledge regularly gradually forget what they once mastered, and people with muscular bodies will see their strength wane if they don’t consistently exercise, demon hunters in this stage are in a "row upstream or be swept back" state. Some of the hunters at the huai level even possess power not less than those at the zhu level, but still must face the risk of diminishing power and consistently strive and train deeply.

"Zhu" level demon hunters don’t have such worries; their Mana has transformed and deeply integrated with their souls and bodies, becoming a constant source of power. From their perspective, huai level hunters are just like the lucky ones armed with powerful Magic Artifacts and those who unexpectedly awaken superpowers—essentially just ordinary people wielding formidable weapons. Zhu level demon hunters, however, can truly be called transcendental, the real demon hunters, and also the pillars of Luoshan.

"Cheng" level demon hunters symbolize the limit of the training path. Hunters at this stage can no longer evolve because they have reached the mountaintop, existing in a state of "completion" as the name literally suggests.

Originally, even if I could have become a demon hunter, I had to start from "kong" and strive against the path of the world from birth to destruction. But with the help of the "seed of the heart," I immediately came into contact with the threshold of "zhu." If Luoshan knew of this object, it would surely cause tremendous upheaval.

But I was also very clear that the Weirdo Maker giving me this object couldn’t possibly be free of charge.

The "seed of the heart" itself had significant side effects. The Weirdo Maker explicitly told me that the souls of those I killed would automatically be consumed by me, and the more souls I consumed, the more I craved to consume souls. It was a bodily instinct, akin to throwing aromatic roasted meat in front of a starving person, who would undoubtedly want to tear and swallow it. Only during the digestion period would this evil craving subside.

The Weirdo Maker also had demands of me, but compared to the side effects, these requirements might not seem so severe. He needed to periodically check my body and collect my blood and other bodily tissues, and I had to report the condition of my body to him like a patient.

Obviously, he treated me as an experimental subject. To him, I wasn’t important; what mattered was what changes the "seed of the heart" would cause in my body.

I wasn’t foolish enough to resist him violently—the practice of buying a gun from a gun store and then threatening the owner on the spot only worked in idiotic jokes. Although I didn’t know what powers he possessed, he certainly had ways to subdue me.

The power from the "seed of the heart" filled me with triumph, but the impulse to kill plunged me into deep anxiety. Rather than resisting the Weirdo Maker, I had to first find a way to deal with this pressing issue.

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