2 Ex-Hunter Family

'My body can cause my death anytime. I'm 50% weaker than those my age. I can't do any hard physical activity. My old self didn't even study properly. He just went to school to be beaten because the situation at home worsened. What should I even do in this life?' he roared while realizing his relationship with his sister didn't matter much in the face of his big challenges.

'Will my graduation exam be my funeral?' he shuddered.

Jacob felt like he had the worst conditions ever as a transmigrator and didn't even receive his golden finger!

"Whatever," he muttered. "I will not go down without a fight," he said as his eyes shone with seriousness like a cornered man. He quickly opened his books and threw aside the manga books and anime figurines on his desk. He was now ready to cram as much knowledge as possible to stay alive!

***

"It's time for dinner! Come or starve, your choice!"

Awoken by the door banging and harsh words, Jacob wiped the drool off his face and the page above which he slept.

"I'm coming, Ruby," he replied with dazed eyes. After rubbing them for a bit, he realized he'd just read a few pages before dozing off. The complicated words quickly drained his mind. He hurried downstairs, muttering, "What kind of people are these hunters? This is like studying for a Ph.D.!"

The difficulty of studying the syllabus nearly made Jacob give up. But he planned to persist when he remembered this could save his life.

'After all, I didn't do Basic Combat Training like my classmates. Even Sumei knows hand-to-hand combat, and she's learned to use three weapons while others barely managed to get used to one.'

He entered the kitchen with the dining table, sat in his usual spot, and finally looked at his family in this life.

Ruby Maxwell, his sister, was 14 this year, in 8th grade. She was an extrovert with plenty of friends in her class. With a white complexion and a youthful body, she had plenty of male fans.

"What are you looking at? Never seen a beauty like me before?" she snapped.

Jacob shook his head and started taking the rice and curry onto his plate.

'Yeah, I nearly forgot that her ego inflated like a rubber duck as she grew older. To think she used to call me brother. Huh. But I don't care anymore. I got to focus on graduating. My survival comes first.'

He was still behaving like the old Jacob, so no one suspected a thing. It was quite easy to do. All he needed to do was to remain silent. Jacob then looked at his father in this life, Peter Maxwell. The man in his mid-40s was ripped like a bodybuilder but was missing a left leg due to a tragedy 8 years ago in 2050.

'That's also the time I got mana poisoning.' Jacob's eyes shone with hatred at the thought of the person who destroyed his near-perfect family.

"You have a supervised dungeon dive tomorrow?" Peter asked nonchalantly.

"Yes, father."

"Then you have a graduation exam a month later?"

Jacob knew his father was up to date with the news in the hunter circles as he was a retired E Rank Hunter. So this question didn't surprise him.

"Yes, father."

"Say goodbye to your mother before you leave tomorrow. Who knows if you'll.."

Jacob looked up but understood what his father was saying.

'Who knows if I'll survive tomorrow? Nobody with a mana-poisoned body has survived as long as me. Even those doctors didn't find anything.'

"Yes, father."

The meal continued silently, and Ruby didn't continue with the usual routine of mocking her brother. Perhaps she felt the need to allow him one night of peace before his dungeon dive tomorrow, or she was perhaps happy that the family burden would disappear in the dungeon.

Jacob was not surprised when he went to the main bedroom on the ground floor after dinner and saw his mother's condition. He stood by the door and stared at the sleeping beauty. It seemed as though time had not left a trace on her.

He was mesmerized by the charm she naturally emitted but woke up to reality. Even though she seemed like she would wake up from a kiss from the fated hero, she wouldn't.

"She's in a coma. That too for the past 8 years," Jacob said to himself. "That one illegal fight between D Rank hunters broke down the building and broke down my family as well," he remembered the culprits.

But what could he do? Nothing. The enemy was a D Rank Hunter, after all!

***

After reaching the Blue Hunter High School the next day after a 15-minute trip on the bus, Jacob quickly reached his classroom. He was decked in leather armor his father had given him. His only weapon was a dagger from his father's dungeon diving days that hung from his belt.

Though his father didn't show any love on a typical day, it was still present.

Jacob noticed his first teammate, the person he depended on most to help him survive external danger.

"Sumei!" he waved his hand as he approached her.

Like him, she was decked in leather armor but held a staff with a rather creepy skull on the top. Even though she had not awakened yet, it was apparent what her dream profession was.

"Jacob," she nodded. It seemed she was over yesterday's incident of being scammed, which greatly relieved Jacob.

"Whose our third member?" he asked while looking around the class. He quickly spotted Kevin and his gang of bullies. They made eye contact, and Kevin sneered.

"Oh no. Not again," Jacob sighed.

"Oo, look who we have here. Is it a hunter? Or is it a waste?" Kevin surrounded him with his five goons.

Jacob remained silent as he didn't have the power to fight back, and further resistance would only result in more ass-kicking. But nobody noticed his clenched fists, resulting in his long nails piercing his hands and drawing blood.

It looked as though Kevin's guts grew as the class remained silent. He had never done this in front of others in a classroom before. As he raised his arm for a more intimate greeting, a voice of opposition arose.

"What do you think you're doing here?" Sumei stepped forward. She didn't feel like she was defending Jacob. She was defending the rules of the classroom. "This is no place to get in a fight." She stared at Kevin without fear.

"You…" Kevin wanted to give in to his impulses for once but finally restrained himself. He knew better than to touch a member of the student council.

"Stop thinking that bullying Jacob will make Angela like you. She doesn't even care about you. Look." Sumei pointed across the room.

Her initial words made Kevin angry, but he still looked at the last seat beside the window. There was a pale beauty with long silver hair with red eyes staring outside. She didn't even seem to notice the commotion happening inside the room.

"I told you!" Jacob finally spoke. "She doesn't hate me! I only bought the last copy of her favorite manga in a store, and she fought with me to get it. That's it!"

He finally couldn't hold it in after realizing the main reason Kevin bullied him. Even though his old self was too self-conscious to tell others, he didn't care.

"Even if you beat me up, she won't like you. Did you get that?" Jacob added.

Kevin's face burnt with some embarrassment after knowing the cat was out of the bag and the stares of his classmates. Soon that embarrassment turned to rage, and his reason for beating up Jacob changed from chasing after love to a personal grudge.

Just as he once again raised his hand, the sound of the door opening stopped him.

"Looks like we have a show going on. What do you think you're doing, Kevin?" Mr. Adam's stern voice made Kevin gulp. He quickly brought his hand down and signaled his goons to take a seat.

"N-nothing sir. We were talking about today's dungeon dive, and I was sharing some tips from my experienced uncle. That's it!" Kevin said while trying to sound normal.

Mr. Adam stared at him briefly, then went to the podium.

"Well, that better be it. You don't want to lose the qualifications to attend the Graduation Exam. Don't forget the rules. Got that?"

"Yes, sir!" Kevin sighed in relief and then sat down.

"Now that you're all here, it's time for your first Dungeon Dive!"

***

The bus rode across the cemented road, and they soon exited the confines of Trathe City. The steel city was left behind as they entered the dry plains. They traveled for another 15 minutes before military blockades started appearing. Striped jeeps with heavy guns positioned on them aimed at the road and the empty wilderness.

"Now listen up." Mr. Adam stood near the exit of the moving bus and called for attention. Near him stood two teachers, a chubby male figure and a thin lady in her 30s. "Mr. John and Mrs. Lucy will also go with us to the dive. You already knew about them, so I'll skip the introductions."

He took a deep breath and continued, "The dungeon we're about to dive into today is named Four Sides of Death. A teacher will go with each team, and three teams will head into the dungeon each time. They will travel on 3 different paths found inside, but the teacher will not travel with you."

A hand rose, and Mr. Adam noticed it was Jacob.

"Ask away," he said.

"Sir. If they don't travel with us, how should this dungeon dive be supervised? And what about our third member?"

Jacob's heart shook after knowing he would go inside without the teacher's protection. All courage seemed to evaporate, and he couldn't help but feel afraid. He was counting on Sumei for her knowledge, not strength. That was something he expected the teachers to provide.

Mr. Adam understood him but smiled without warmth.

"Jacob. I know your case. But we are trying to awaken talents in this dive. How will you sense danger or experience extreme emotions if the teachers accompany you? But we're not leaving you alone."

He looked at everyone this time.

"You will be given a signal flare which you can use, and they'll immediately come to your rescue within 1 minute. About your remaining partner, you'll see him soon."

Coincidentally, the bus also stopped at this moment. The students noticed they were in a place that looked like a military camp and got out of the bus in order.

As they gathered outside the bus, Kevin sneaked over to Jacob and said, "Enjoy your last days, loser. I already can't stand the sight of you."

Jacob stared at him with annoyance but didn't take him seriously.

'This guy used to bully me out of sight of the teachers. How will he dare to do anything here? Is he out of his mind?'

Kevin seemed to notice the disdain on Jacob's face. But he simply sneered and returned to stand with his group while Jacob did the same.

"So, did you hear anything about our new member?" he asked Sumei.

She moved in obvious discomfort due to the coarse leather brushing against her soft skin. But she still replied, "A little, and it's not good news."

Jacob's forehead furrowed. He didn't wish to hear bad news now. Still, he wanted to know the details.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Remember Bob?" she asked while finally adjusting to her clothes.

"Bob who? Bob the builder?" Jacob joked as he couldn't remember anyone with that name in his class.