Chapter 32: Ron the Stone Man
Seeing a group of men chasing him like they had gone crazy while completely ignoring Nexus, Mark really wanted to curse.
"What the hell are you idiots chasing me for? I don’t even remember meeting you anywhere."
Mark genuinely couldn’t understand what these lunatics were thinking. He usually kept to himself, so how could he have possibly driven them this crazy?
"It’s because of you that we missed today’s free awakening opportunity."
"Huh?!"
Everyone shouted as they ran. Their logic was so bizarre that Mark felt like he was dreaming. There was no way people in real life could actually talk like this.
"What does that have to do with me?"
Mark shouted while running, hoping these lunatics would actually listen to him. He really didn’t want to get beaten up for no reason.
"How is it not related? Isn’t it because you’re F-rank?"
"That’s right. You’re the disgrace of all hunters, so your bad luck rubbed off on us."
"If you know what’s good for you, stop and let us beat you up. Otherwise, the consequences will be unbelievably terrible."
...
But those ridiculous words made Mark so furious that all he could do was let out a bitter laugh instead of arguing anymore.
Everyone looks down on me because I’m F-rank, right? You all dare come here to beat me up just because I’m weak, right?
Those pessimistic thoughts filled Mark’s mind, making him feel like giving up. But... he refused to accept it!
He had struggled for so many years, and his revenge was still unfinished. How could he accept that? Even if he no longer had a proper chance to get revenge, he could still burn down the Wolf guild headquarters.
Sure, it would be a despicable thing to do and put countless innocent people in danger, but so what? As long as he could get even the slightest bit of revenge, he...
The increasingly inhuman thoughts in his mind suddenly came to a stop when he remembered what Nexus had just said to him.
"What am I supposed to do..." Mark muttered before immediately turning into a dark alley.
"Hurry! He’s trying to get out of our sight."
The crowd shouted as they all sped up together. Their noise stirred up the whole neighborhood, yet no one came out to stop them.
The people living here were already used to this kind of chaos.
If it had nothing to do with them, they had no intention of getting involved and bringing trouble upon themselves.
Unlike the others who were running until they were drenched in sweat, Ron looked completely relaxed. This feeling of playing cat and mouse made him incredibly excited.
"Run. Run faster. The moment you finally have a little hope, I’ll show up and crush it."
Ron bared his teeth in a cruel grin. The way he looked at Mark was like a cunning wolf staring at a weak young deer.
This messy residential area with its terrible layout usually annoyed Mark, but today it turned out to be surprisingly useful.
Mark slipped through narrow gaps, moved into the darkest corners, and finally jumped straight into a sewer, leaving the others stunned.
They weren’t familiar with this area. What if there were traps down there? If they jumped in recklessly, wouldn’t they be finished?
Even if there wasn’t any danger, the sewer reeked, and the risk of getting sick was high. None of them were stupid enough to climb down themselves.
"What do we do now? Are we really supposed to jump down?"
The fat man frowned as he looked down at his huge belly. With a stomach like this, if he tried to squeeze into that narrow sewer, he’d definitely get stuck.
The others only looked at each other without answering. None of them wanted to let Mark escape that easily, but none of them wanted to risk themselves here either.
In an instant, the aggressive momentum they had earlier when they were shouting about beating Mark senseless disappeared without a trace.
Someone wanted to ask Ron for help since he was the strongest among them. But there was no way Ron’s massive body could fit into that tiny sewer.
If they actually dared to say it, they might end up making Ron furious, and the one getting beaten up wouldn’t be Mark, but them instead.
Watching the whole group just stand there while Mark got farther and farther away, Ron was getting really impatient. If these people hadn’t paid him to do this, he would’ve knocked every one of them over the head already.
"If the government makes us pay for the damage, you’ll cover the cost, right?"
Ron asked a question that left everyone stunned for five seconds before they immediately understood what he meant. Wasn’t it normal for a D-rank hunter to destroy a little concrete? As long as they were willing to pay for the damages, Ron could use his full strength.
"Leave that to us."
"Ok."
Seeing everyone answer with complete confidence, the corner of Ron’s mouth curled up. He raised both fists high into the air, his muscles tensing.
His skin became rough before quickly turning into something like solid stone. This was his ability: Stone Body.
"Hah!"
Ron let out a roar and slammed both fists into the ground. The deafening impact was followed by chunks of shattered concrete flying everywhere.
The small sewer entrance was smashed apart by Ron, creating an opening large enough for anyone to easily jump down into the sewer.
"It’s wide enough now. What are you waiting for? Go after him already. I’ll stay up here and make sure he doesn’t get back to the surface again."
Ron wore a savage grin under the moonlight, making him look like a monster. It scared the people there so badly they nearly pissed themselves.
Even though they didn’t want to go into the sewer, could they really refuse? Looking at Ron’s crazed expression, if they ran away now, they definitely wouldn’t end well.
"Everyone, get after him! We’ll go together. Are we really scared of a worthless F-rank? If we run away now because of a worthless F-rank, then what does that make us?"
The fat man shouted, trying to fire everyone back up. They had already come this far. If he ran home now, even he would despise himself for being such a coward.
This group, who didn’t have much ability but had enormous egos, was immediately fired up. They came here to vent their anger, not to turn themselves into cowards.
"Charge!"