“You have to be careful of every beast in the forest, even if you’re tempted by greed, especially animals that look special, like a white stag. Never hunt it down!” The old hunter warned. “Because that could be an animal of the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis. Legends say that she will punish anyone who destroys the purity of the hunt.”

I never took old Romos for a superstitious man, but I took his advice to heart somewhat. I had been shot into the past, and put into someone's body or maybe this was some mythological world separate from mine? While in my previous life, I wasn’t exactly religious, but things had happened that opened my mind to new possibilities.

The thought of Greek gods existing was terrifying, as they weren’t exactly the kindest deities.

“From now on, I will teach you the unspoken rules of hunting. The Gods rarely have mercy on mortals,” Romos warned, his eyes narrowing.

Aw, shucks, he worried about me? As expected from a tsundere old man.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He narrowed his eyes.

“Like what?” I tilted my head, playing up my confusion.

“Like you're thinking something insulting about me," he said.

Holy shit! This guy had amazing intuition!

“You’re just seeing things. I treat you respectfully and care as if you were my grandfather.”

When he heard that, his eyes softened a bit. He coughed in his hand and looked away. "Anyway, soon we will go on a real hunt. Just tell me when you have a free day.”

I nodded and was about to get up and walk out. Usually, Romos never outright told me when to leave, but he ended the conversation there. He was a strange old man like that.

But as soon as I got out, he called out. "Get ready. We're going hunting."

"What? Didn't you say it would be another day when I'm free?" I asked. Did the old man have dementia?

"Are you free today?" He snorted.

"Yes," I answered without a second thought. "But why today?"

"Because I feel like it," he said nonchalantly.

"I don't have a weapon," I reasoned. While I was excited to learn how to hunt, I was quite tired today, and the sun had almost set. I wasn't comfortable hunting for the first time in the dark.

"You can have my old bow," said the old man, surprising me. He was quite generous. His bow should have cost about 5 Silver Drachmas.

There were three local currencies: Bronze Talisman, Silver Drachma, and Gold Olympus.

13 Bronze Talismans equal 1 Silver Drachma, and 54 Silver Drachma equal 1 Gold Olympus. The bronze currency is sometimes referred to as a Bronze Page by some people.

A loaf of bread costs 1 Bronze Talisman. However, in the village, families like ours typically lived on around 40 to 50 Bronze Talismans a month, which was considered borderline poverty.

It's worth noting that all currencies were coins, as paper money had not yet been invented.

Regardless, the bow was expensive by village standards. So this time, I didn’t have to fake a smile as I accepted it. "Thanks, old man. I'm excited to learn how to hunt from an experienced master like you."

The old man stared at me, saying nothing until he got up and put on his hunting gear.

As we ventured out of the wooden home and into the nearby forest, the sun began to set, casting long shadows from the towering trees. The once bright and vibrant forest was now shrouded in darkness, with only the occasional beam of light shining through the thick canopy of leaves above.

The forest was alive with rustling leaves and twigs snapping underfoot. As I breathed in the cool, crisp air, my mind cleared, and my senses sharpened.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

One of the things I loved about these times was the simplicity of nature and the clean air. This almost made up for the outdated outhouses and food scarcity that could lead to starvation during the winter. Or how even a small scratch could be dangerous due to infection. However, I was grateful to be alive.

"See that over there?" the old man pointed at a hole in the ground about a couple dozen meters away. I narrowed my eyes, struggling to see what he was talking about.

A small black rabbit poked its head out of the hole, eating grass before retreating back into the hole. The old man nudged me. "Shoot it."

I didn't complain about my lack of experience with moving targets or inability to hit small targets, at least not out loud.

I pulled back the bowstring, feeling it dig into my fingers. Pulling back on the bow required much more strength than one might assume.

The arrow flew straight and cut through the air - fwish! - landing on the rabbit's neck, killing it in one shot.

The old man's eyes widened like saucers when he saw what had happened. However, his appearance soon returned to normal, and he walked over to take the dead rabbit. The arrow had pierced through the animal's neck, and its body twitched.

"This is a good shot, but don't get arrogant. This is just beginner's luck," the old man said.

Luck... Wait, now that I think about it, in the game, Luck usually meant an increased chance of getting better items during crafting. It also meant a rising chance of critical hits. From the status page, one was around the average adult stat, but I had two in Luck.

However, since this wasn't a game, I could smell the leaves and feel the earth below my feet, and the people were too real. Did that mean Luck worked differently? Maybe it affected real life too, and not just game specifics. If that was the case, luck was the most valuable stat.

My heart started beating faster at the thought of the Luck stat actually making me luckier! But I quickly calmed myself down as these things weren't guaranteed, and I had to wait and see more.

I should try throwing dice or flipping a coin later to see how it exactly worked.

The old man skinned the rabbit by making an opening from tail to neck and then ripping the skin off the animal. He handed me the rabbit meat and took the skin for himself. "This will be my payment for taking you out here. You can keep the bow for next time."

Although he took the skin, it didn't matter, as he had given me the bow, which was way more valuable than rabbit fur. What could I even do with the fur?

"Thanks, teacher!"

"Yeah, sure," he waved me off, and we returned to his cabin. After giving me a dozen arrows, he dismissed me, and I returned home.

Today had been a good day.

The chilly night air chilled the back of my neck as I walked back. There was an eerie feeling in the dark as I approached my house. Despite the feeling, there was nothing amiss, and when I entered my home, everything was normal, and I drifted to sleep.

…

Today was my fifteenth birthday, and my mother cooked the rabbit I caught yesterday. Meanwhile, my father had prepared the gift he boasted about yesterday.

Children typically didn't receive birthday gifts in these times, but fifteen was a special age around these parts. I was considered a man from now on, meaning I had to pull my own weight. In the event that I commit any crime, I will be punished like an adult. For example, the punishment for stealing depended on the severity, and I could lose from a finger to a hand.

"What's this?" I looked at my gift. It was a small animal with white fur and about as big as a puppy. "A goat? Am I going to start milking goats?"

"What are you talking about? This little guy is a male," my father said, patting the goat's head. "Do you think we have enough money to get you a milking goat? Do I look like I shit gold?"

"Dear! No swearing around the family," my mother chided him.

My father handed me the goat's leash, and as soon as the little guy got close, he headbutted my knee.

"He also kept chasing the chickens and headbutting them," my father explained. "That's why the village head sold him so cheaply. He was a steal."

I didn't mind the cheap gift and ruffled the goat's head, which annoyed him, and he tried to headbutt my hand.

"You can name him now," my father said impatiently.

"I'll name him Billy the goat. He is the Top G from now on, the Top Goat," I said, picking the little guy up, and he calmed down when I held him in my arms.

"That's a weird name for a goat," my father commented, earning a glare from my mother. But he shrugged it off.

Today was a break day, and we mostly ate rabbit stew while my father talked about other farmers and how some of them were lazy. Tomorrow, we must work harder to catch up on the missed day.

As evening approached, both my parents retired to bed early. Although they weren't like my previous family, they were still good people. This was my first peaceful day since coming into this world, and it was a welcome rest.

I stayed in the living room, sitting with the little goat's head on my lap. The little guy was sleeping after getting tired of head-butting my hand.

Just as I was about to drift off to sleep too, something moved in the corner of my eye. A shadow passed over the window straw covers, but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. My entire body shuddered with a sudden chill.

Something or someone was prowling around the house...