Chapter 98: Ship Conflict

The feeling of being the center of attention didn’t affect me as much as I expected. Maybe it would have in the past, but now, with my current power, being stared at by so many hunters who were clearly weaker than me kept me calm.

The same guy who spoke first, the one who wanted to be the leader, frowned and came at me — verbally, at least.

"And who are you? A hunter? Your aura is so weak I thought you were just one of Lion Heart’s rich friends. That’s the only explanation for you getting so many perks on this ship."

The others started talking shit along with that first guy. Before, they were all fighting each other over who would lead, and now they were joining together to talk shit about me. As expected. In situations like this, people always teamed up against a common enemy.

I thought about attacking that guy and showing everyone my power. Maybe even becoming the leader they wanted. But was it worth it? There was no benefit, and I would still have to spend energy running things. It seemed more boring than something I would actually enjoy.

But with all that hostility, there was no way I was going to answer them like a bitch. I had to show them I could give as good as I got.

First, I dealt with the two idiots who had spoken before.

"I’m skilled, and I’m a close friend of Lion Heart, like those two useless idiots over there said," I pointed at them to make sure everyone knew who I was talking about, "but being more skilled than all of you doesn’t mean I want to command anything."

I could feel everyone boiling with anger. Maybe I was talking too much, pushing them toward a fight, but I didn’t care.

"And another thing." I pointed at them. "Being stronger than you shouldn’t be something I brag about. It’s just the minimum expected from a hunter who takes training seriously."

When I said that, questioning their honor as hunters, chaos broke out. Most of them wanted my head.

"Who do you think you are? Just because you have Lion Heart behind you? Not even he will protect you from us. This is absurd."

One of them tried to get the whole group to attack me.

"Let’s teach this asshole a lesson. Not kill him — just leave him crippled."

"That’s right. Let’s show him we’re capable hunters, and that’s why we were chosen for this mission."

Not everyone was in on it. I noticed five hunters scattered around the deck. All of them quiet.

The second I saw the first suspicious movement — someone about to attack — I acted. I summoned my cube and threw a barrier around all of them.

"What is this? A stupid barrier? Come on, let’s break this shit."

They all thought the barrier I created would be easily destroyed, since there were a lot of hunters trapped inside, joining their strength to try to break it.

But that wasn’t going to happen. They threw everything at it — fire, water, swords, punches, even summoned creatures — and nothing worked.

It shook, of course, but there wasn’t a single crack. They were completely trapped.

I made the barrier transparent so I could look them in the eye while I talked.

"I don’t think I need you to get through that hard part of the ocean Lion Heart mentioned," I said, arms crossed, in a cold tone, "so I’ll keep you locked in there. I’ll bring food later. And buckets."

They started attacking again, even talking shit, trying to destabilize me or something. I used my ability to change the barrier again, making it so that no matter how loud they got inside, no sound would get through.

Silence fell over the ship. Actually, it was the quietest it had been all trip. The whole journey, those hunters had been loud, talking, drinking, and starting fights among themselves a few times.

Peace finally came.

One of the hunters who wasn’t with them came toward me. He had been leaning against a wall the whole time, just watching, not saying a word.

"Thank you for doing this," he said. "I was starting to go crazy with all that noise."

He wasn’t the only one. The others who were scattered around the ship’s deck came toward me too. Every one of them was a lot friendlier than the ones stuck in the barrier.

One of them was a woman dressed all in black, with gothic makeup on.

"If I were to shut them up, the only way would be by killing them. So, thank you for doing us this favor. I’m Brenda, by the way. Nice to meet you."

Just like that, a group of six hunters had formed: me and my five new friends.

The most interesting thing was that all five of the hunters who weren’t part of that mess were much stronger than the ones I had trapped inside the barrier. They were at least rank AA, which was already way stronger than ordinary rank A hunters.

"You can be our leader," a man called Mathias said. "We all agree on it."

"No," I said, shaking my head, "let’s just work together as equals. I don’t want that position."

They liked that. Maybe it was what they wanted to hear from me all along.

"We can safely get through this dangerous part of the ocean without their help," I said, gazing at the horizon, which I could barely see because of the thick fog.

"Agreed. They might get pissed once we land, but they’ll get over it eventually. Also, they were the ones who started the fight, not you. I wouldn’t trust someone who can’t control himself to have my back," Brenda added.

She had a valid point. Those hunters had turned into savage beasts ready to cripple me in seconds. How could anyone fight a life-and-death battle with people like that beside them? I definitely didn’t want them protecting my back.

The rest of the journey went smoothly, without those hunters complaining. I gave them food three times a day and tossed them buckets to piss and shit in.

Maybe I was being too harsh, but screw it. At least they were getting used to their new reality. This new continent we were about to explore wasn’t exactly full of bathrooms with hot showers.

Lion Heart barely left his room. He had seen the barrier, knew I had trapped everyone, and didn’t care.

And the monsters he had talked about never showed up. The thick fog was still around us, making it much harder to see, but that was it. No monsters came to attack and destroy the ship like he said.

I knocked on his door.

"Come in."

Lion Heart was sitting in a chair by a huge window. The window gave him a great view of the ocean.

"You were lying, weren’t you? There are no monsters in this area."

That was the only explanation. Lion Heart laughed his ass off.

"I was. The fog is real, though, but that’s it. We’ll reach the new continent in three hours, I think."

"Why?"

"To stir up trouble. I wanted to see what you would do, and honestly, I liked what I saw. Those hunters would have tried to kill you, so you did what you had to do."

"So you were testing me?"

"Sort of. Also, it was my way of making you befriend the stronger hunters on this ship, and I think it worked, right?" Lion Heart smiled.

The man was clever. I would give him that. By doing all of that, he made me and the other rank AA hunters who disliked those crazy-ass hunters work together. We weren’t exactly friends, but we got along.

I left his room and waited outside until the fog finally cleared up after a few days. It was so nice to see the horizon again.

It was around midday, the sun harsh on my face. On the horizon, I saw it for the first time. The new continent!

An enormous piece of land that hadn’t been explored much yet. Untamed wilderness. This must be how sailors felt back in the day when they found new lands.

Mathias and Brenda, the ones I had talked to the most in the last few days, stood beside me, also seeing the continent for the first time.

"Incredible," Brenda said, wiping her eyes with her arm. "Sorry. Getting emotional here."

We had finally reached our destination, and I had no idea what was waiting for me on that continent.

Lion Heart left his room.

"Vince," he said. "Undo your barrier. Let me talk to these bastards."

I did what he said. The moment I did, the hunters inside, who couldn’t hear our conversation, came forward, ready to attack me.

The killing intent on their faces was obvious. Days of eating what I threw at them — good food, at least — and shitting and pissing in buckets had made them go nuts.

However, when they saw Lion Heart standing on the deck, staring them down, they all stopped instantly. No one dared to move.