Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest novel Chapter 476

Chapter 476 106.3 - A small talk

After ending the call with Irina, I decided to reach out to Senior Maya. I owed her an update after all this time. She had been a significant part of my journey, and it was only right to let her know where I stood.

I initiated the call, but the connection failed. The same automated message played, stating that her smartwatch could not be reached.

'Figures,' I thought, a bit disappointed but not entirely surprised.

Senior Maya….. Her situation was kind of weird. I had never heard of Evergreen's family or anything like that, but at the same time, she had immense amounts of resources to which she could have access.

That is why it was not hard to judge that she was some sort of important person as well.

'Now that I think about it, maybe I can obtain the information from this place.'

It was a natural thought, but that was for a different time.

I didn't want to leave things hanging since I know that she can be a bit hard to handle sometimes.

'Let's hope that nothing goes wrong. I had spent a lot of time getting those blood bags ready.'

It was a decision that I had made once, and now, I am going to see the end of it. There is nothing that can be done other than this.

I switched to the voice message function and recorded a short message.

"Senior Maya, it's your Junior, Astron. I'm in the middle of some secluded training, so if you can't reach me, that's why. I just wanted to let you know that things are going well, and I'm making progress. Take care, and stay safe."

I ended the message and sent it off.

'This should suffice.' At least, I hope it does.

******

Jeremy Hawkins stood frozen, his extended hand slowly dropping to his side as Irina gracefully turned away, her attention fully captured by the call. The lightheartedness in her tone, the ease with which she dismissed him, stung more than he cared to admit. For a moment, his charming facade faltered, his smile wavering as he watched her retreating figure. The way she had so effortlessly excused herself felt like a slap in the face, and the sting of humiliation burned hotter as he noticed the amused glances from the other heirs scattered around the banquet hall.

They weren't even trying to hide their amusement, their eyes gleaming with barely concealed laughter. A few whispers flitted through the air, subtle enough to avoid overt disrespect but loud enough for Jeremy to catch their derision. He knew what they were thinking: The great Jeremy Hawkins, heir to the mighty Hawkins family, just got publicly snubbed.

The realization made his blood boil. But Jeremy was nothing if not composed under pressure. He forced a smile, his expression betraying nothing of the storm brewing inside him.

With a casual shrug, he adjusted the cuff of his tailored suit as if the encounter had been of no consequence at all. He lifted his chin slightly, meeting the amused gazes of his peers with a cool indifference as though their opinions were beneath him.

But inside, rage simmered. 'How dare she humiliate me like this?' The thought gnawed at him as he made his way back to where his friends were lounging, their smug expressions making it clear they had witnessed the entire exchange. As soon as Jeremy reached them, the jabs began.

"Well, well, well, looks like our smooth-talking Jeremy isn't as irresistible as he thought," one of them drawled, a sly grin spreading across his face.

"I could have told you Irina wouldn't fall for that charm of yours," another added, snickering as he took a sip of his drink. "But you were so confident, weren't you? What was it you said? 'No girl can resist the Hawkins allure'?"

Jeremy's jaw tightened, but he kept his composure, forcing a laugh to match theirs. "She's just playing hard to get," he replied smoothly, though the words felt hollow. "I'll get her next time."

Oh, sure," one of them jeered. "You keep telling yourself that, Jeremy."

The taunting continued, each word chipping away at his pride. They had made a bet earlier in the evening, a foolish wager born out of Jeremy's overconfidence.

He had been so sure of himself, so certain that Irina would fall under his spell like so many others before her. But now, standing there with his friends mocking him, the taste of failure was bitter on his tongue.

Jeremy's mind raced as the mocking laughter of his friends faded into the background, becoming nothing more than a dull hum in his ears. The bitterness of his failure was quickly overshadowed by a growing sense of unease. Why didn't it work? He had been so certain that Irina would be just another conquest, another piece in the puzzle that his family was carefully constructing across the Federation. His charm, honed and amplified by his family's secret skill, had never failed him before.

Father said it was foolproof, Jeremy thought, a bead of cold sweat forming at the base of his neck. 'It was supposed to work on everyone of this age, especially someone like her.'

The memory of his father's stern, calculating face flashed in his mind. His father had been explicit—this skill was their family's trump card, a guarantee of influence and control. It was a subtle power woven into the very fabric of Jeremy's being, passed down and perfected over two generations. It wasn't just charisma; it was a force, an innate ability that bent the will of others to his own.

'Is she that strong now?'

The question gnawed at him. Irina, being a member of the Emberheart family, had always been formidable, but this was different.

If she had resisted his charm so easily, it meant one of two things: either his power was weakening, or she had grown far stronger than anyone had anticipated. Neither option was comforting.

The Hawkins family had made its fortune through cunning and manipulation, and their deals with the demons ensured their rise to power.

The skill Jeremy had inherited was a direct result of those dark pacts—an ability to subtly influence the minds of others, making them more agreeable, more pliable.