The sun has a different feel to it in different seasons. Now just at the cusp of winter, it was even more pleasant.

Saho was laying in the sun like a reptile on a sandy beach. There was a small balcony to the back of his room, where he had planted some Phillies, a flower which bloomed half a dozen times in a year. The rows of clay pots also contained some basil and tulsi.

He awoke with the noise of his neighbours. Rubbing his eyes he saw the lady living in the quarters below him was talking loudly with the lady across the next building. Ignoring them he picked his book from the left of his mattress. An old cover, with stained pages. The words though were readable. He had collected several books over the years. Among which the book on local plants and the monsters was the hardest one to get. Rests were several novels and diaries.

The school was run by the town governor and was the only one in the town. It made it so that the petty squabbles of gangs stayed out of there. So it was one of the few places where everyone who could afford could get some basic education. They also imparted lesser grade manuals to walk on the path of warriors. These were distributed by order of the king at various schools throughout the kingdom. Being an orphan Saho never had a chance.

So he had to improvise to learn new things, like practically shadowing the healer they had at the gang. It was there that he learnt how to read by peeking through various books the healer had, along with knowledge of stitching wounds and herbs he could use for everyday ailments.

The book he was currently reading was his favourite by far. Originally it was the love story of the farm boy and the princess, which was exciting to him. The 15-year-old him had seen himself in the poor farm boy, fighting against all odds and eventually winning the heart of the princess and marrying her. But 2 years later as he was reading it again, he couldn't help but be surprised by the layers he found in this book. It wasn't a simple love story but more than that. The way a simple farm boy used agriculture to obtain leverage with the merchants and then the way he used the money to save his city from the bandits.

It had lessons on friendship and betrayal. How greed motivated people and how the people could be worst than monsters. The sacrifices and the risks one had to take to achieve one's goal.

With every read, a deeper shade of the story was unveiled.

Putting the book aside he examined his body. After 2 days of rest, he was feeling good, the bruises no longer hurt that much. The pills had done their job.

He went to the empty room he had. After stretching and doing some warm-up exercises that he had learned from watching the boss and other members in the training area he took a deep breath. The training manual he had gotten from the boss required him to be fully focused to perform the set of movements which consisted of slowly punching and kicking from various positions while trying hard to maintain his centre of gravity. One had to keep his breathing even while taking deep breaths in between to maintain the pace for as long as possible. It also contained some basic sword movement of chopping, cutting and moving in ways to not harm yourself with your sword. It was really good for your basics.

After half an hour, he was thoroughly spent. "Need about a couple of years to reach the second rank," he thought. His whole body was burning. Remembering the old wounds he stopped for the day. Looking outside at the position of the sun he decided to get some lunch.

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The next day he was feeling quite good. Every guy in the gang had to report at the headquarters from time to time. And if there weren't any tasks available they could go hunting or laze around. After the last debacle, he had earned a good week-long vacation at least.

With a full day ahead of him Saho decided not to waste it by lazing around. He knew that the best way to rank up was to hone your skills in the jungle. The monsters provided the right amount of stimuli to sharpen your senses. It was near death when one felt most alive. Over the years Saho had experienced the thrill of the hunt countless times.

As he would be staying overnight in the forest he packed his makeshift tent, a bow and a bundle of arrows in his sack. He wore the leather armour outside his shirt. A belt to hold his sword and 2 daggers. As it would be cold he also donned a coat that was made from wolf skin. It had cost him a good 5 silver last winter.

On his way towards the gate, he also picked some healing pills and potions from the alchemist shop.

The forest would be around 20km west of here. So he rented a horse for smooth travels. The fields around the town were cleared and were used for farming. Now the dry, yellow husks of crops, were waiting for the snow to grant them final burying so that they could become nutrients for the next set of crops in the coming year.

It took him about half an hour on the horse to reach the small outpost which was at the edge of the forest. It had a small inn, some shops, a stable to rest the horses. Most of the hunters and merchants would pass through here as it was the last stop to rest as well as to buy monsters parts for cheap. It also served to provide early warning to towns in case of monster outbreaks.

Saho deposited the horse here and started moving towards the forest. The outskirts were relatively safe. Small birds and unranked animals mostly roamed here. If you had just started to hunt this was the area to train. Farmers(unranked) who were looking for some extra income and some rank 1 warriors not willing to risk their life would hunt, or pick herbs here.

As he moved further tall trees of deodar, cheer, started appearing. Unlike the plains, where the town of Greenwood and surrounding villages were, the forest was at a higher altitude and as one progressed further the path would slope upwards. Far into the forest, you could see mountain tops covered in white.

After an hour or so he knew that it was around here that rank 1 and rank 2 monsters would start appearing. He had been hunting for 3 years now so was well aware of how easy it was to lose his life amongst all the thrill.

As sunlight peeked through the trees and fell on the dry leaves on the ground it illuminated the path which an animal or some hunter would have used in the past day or two. Carefully studying these marks and also keeping eyes on his surroundings he walked slowly with light steps.

After several hours, as the sun had reached overhead, he finally spotted something. A wild boar, a small tusk in his jaws made him rank 1. They usually moved in groups so they should be nearby. Calculating the path he would take he decided to cut him off and wait for it.

He had already taken out his bow earlier and now knocked an arrow on it. Steading his breathing he watched as the boar moved towards him. Pulling the bow he aimed as the boar moved forward. 30m, 20m, 10m, at 8m he released the arrow. It struck him in the chest, missing the neck and the quiet of the forest was broken by a loud shriek of pain.

Without wasting any time Saho pulled his knife and rushed forward. Within a couple of seconds, he was hacking the boar with his strong and wild blows. Blood poured from the boar's wounds. He tried to charge at Saho but Saho was too nimble and easily avoided his tusk. Weakened by the loss of blood, Saho put him out of his misery by a Clean strike to his neck.