Leaving the store after Sera purchased him the weapon, Levi left with a hop in his step. He was eternally grateful towards Sera. It had cost her 15 gold, and although Levi didn’t yet know the importance of such a sum, he surmised it wasn’t a small amount. Even if it was cheaper than he had thought, he didn’t care. Someone had bought him something, and that brought an unfamiliar warmth to his heart.

When was the last time someone purchased a gift for him? Levi couldn’t remember.

Reaching the town centre where the hunting board was located, Levi spun to Sera, “thank you so much for everything.” He turned and looked at Bram and Gregory, too.

“Ah, don’t mention it,” Gregory ruffled up his hair through his hat.

Visor of his peaked cap falling, Levi straightened it, clicking his tongue in annoyance.

Sera leered at the board. “Are you sure you don’t want any help in selecting your hunting target, at least?”

Levi shook his head, “I also want to do that on my own. Sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologise,” Bram said. “Just make sure you don’t pick something you can’t handle. Remember your time hunting the Salamite. Each monster has its traits, each beast has its weakness. Study the hunt before you commit.”

Smiling, Levi nodded. “Don’t worry, guys. I’ll be extra careful. And I’ll only pick a hunt where I have the overwhelming advantage.”

“Good,” Sera sighed. “You’re not getting overconfident.”

“Never,” Levi admitted. He had gone through too much to underestimate anyone, or anything. “So,” Levi spoke up, curious gnawing at him. “what will you be doing while I’m hunting?”

“I’m afraid we’ll be gone by the time you get back from your first hunt,” Gregory said.

Shocked at the answer, he asked, “Gone?”

“Aye,” he replied. “As the captain I have to show my face at headquarters, give a briefing. There’s only so much that can be said through the channels. And as the face of the future of the family, Sera’s got to be back as well.”

Sera nodded in agreement.

“So that leaves me and the big guy?” Levi craned his neck up at Bram. “Or are you going as well?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” He replied, setting Levi’s mind at ease. Although Levi wanted to go on his own, he had to admit, having Bram back at the town as a safety blanket really put his mind at ease. If he got lost, Bram would know if he returned or not by the morning, and he’d come and find him.

“But what will you do?”

Levi couldn't shake the guilt. Because he wanted to hunt, Bram had to stay behind, and the weight of that responsibility pressed heavily on him. But it was necessary. He had to level up his Relic; the potential power increase was too significant to ignore. If he could level it up twice before reaching the Academy in four months, it would mean a substantial 20% boost to all his abilities. Sure, he could wait, but when would he next get the chance to be on his own? Honestly, Levi didn’t know. From the moment he arrived in the Imperial City, he'd be surrounded by people at all times.

He had asked the others about hunting opportunities in the Imperial City, but it wasn't very feasible. Contested areas were teeming with people, and you were more likely to get your foot trampled on than successfully hunt a monster.

And if he wanted to go far enough away? It would take at least a week to travel on foot. It just wasn’t feasible.

It took a while to say goodbye to Gregory and Sera. Sera had a lot of words of warning, telling him about this and that. Despite him being a golden egg that Sera wanted to return home with, Levi noticed the care deep in her eyes. She made no show of hiding it, either. Unlike Gregory, who Levi had a hard time understanding, the powerful woman didn’t bother hiding her emotions.

Bram also excused himself. He had some business to attend to. What that business was, Bram refused to say. The tower of a man placed all his trust in Levi’s ability to pick his own hunt. So that’s what he did.

He was going to miss Sera and Gregory, but he had a mission to do. Levi placed his attention on the hunting board and scanned the available hunts. There were new ones added since last time he had checked.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Ignoring all the 1-star hunts, he only placed his focus on the 2-stars. The adult trio were worried he would jump the gun and take on a 3-star hunt, but there was no way in hell he’d even think about doing that.

The annoying, skittery nature of the salamite proved to be a task to hunt it. He could only imagine how difficult it would be if it was stronger on top of that.

No, what he wanted was something that could put up a fight and teach him different aspects of hunting. Preferably, he needed something to hunt during the day—navigating the darkness without an experienced guide or dark vision was too risky; the hunter could easily become the hunted.

It took him just five minutes to find the perfect target: the Bulwark Beast. This two-legged monster resembled a much taller greenkin. It had green flesh covered in armour, but the most striking feature was the massive rock on its back. The rock appeared to be a hollowed shell, likely used for disguise, portable shelter, or defence.

Now, he just had to figure out what the Bulwark Beast was capable of and where it made its home.

He had a vague idea, but his memory was lacking. It was time to hit the library.

***

Levi left the library in embarrassment. It turned out that the vague idea he had was about another monster entirely.

Instead of my magic skills, maybe I need to improve my memory, Levi thought to himself in amusement.

He had found everything he needed within the monster hunter manual within the library, now all that was left was to hunt it down.

Gathering his supplies—food, water, medical bandages provided by Sera, and various utility items for setting up camp and general survival—Levi made his way out of the gargantuan gates. The guards gave him apprehensive glances. Levi didn’t like it.

Most likely rumours had already spread about what had occurred with Rakor. Unease gripped Levi like a vice. What if the others wanted revenge?

However, despite the fear of the unknown, Levi dipped into the forest just outside the walls. Just because people may be after his head, it was no excuse to cower away. It just meant he had to be ready for whatever situation that arrived. And that meant a lot of traps.

***

The region he had to travel to required an eight-hour gruelling hike through forests and marshes before he finally reached the mountains—or at least, the foot of a massive hill that seemed nearly as tall as the town's walls. Levi wasn't sure if it qualified as a mountain or a hill, but it certainly looked imposing.

As the terrain became more hilly, the trees grew sparse, and huge boulders were scattered everywhere. Levi could feel the tension lingering in the air, thick enough to cut with a knife. Any one of these rocks could be concealing a powerful monster.

Levi carefully utilised his mana by placing fire traps all around him. Then, it was time to rouse the beast from its den.

“Arise,” Levi commanded, mana radiating out from his mouth.

The moment his words filtered through the air, Levi reeled in his attention to the rocks all around. Hyper focused, Levi waited for any minute movement. He didn’t see anything. He repeated his words, walking in between the trees where he was safe from any sudden attack.

If anyone was watching Levi right this minute, they’d think him insane, talking at rocks, dashing between trees. But it was necessary.

After 15 minutes of shouting mana, he spotted it. It was so trace, that if he wasn’t squinting his eyes and paying full attention, he’d have missed it. A rock twitched.

Got you. Grinning, Levi first received his mana through Meditation, then summoned a blaze in his palm. He wasn’t holding back. He wanted to melt the rock with a single attack, destroying its defence.

But just as he was about to unleash a lance of fire, a shrill screech assaulted him from above.

Heart palpitating, Levi activated his armour in a flash. The moment the golden carapace emerged from his arm, a harsh impact smashed into him, his back crashing into the tree right behind him. Hot blood seeped from the cracks in his golden armour as he spotted the attacker: a bird.

Flapping its large, razor-sharp wingspan, it ascended to the top of the tree canopy, where it dive bombed straight for him once more. The beast was at least 4 feet tall, its wings adorned with a metal blade. Sunlight glinted off them, attempting to blind him.

Cursing under his breath, Levi darted behind the tree as he shot an arrow of fire at the incoming bird. The spell blazed through the sky, only for the bird to nimbly dodge it.

The bird, unable to strike Levi as he hid behind a tree, retreated back up to the trees high above. It screeched, awaiting its chance to strike.

It was then a rumbling, crackling explosion rocked the earth below Levi’s feet. Head whirling to the open field of rocks, he spotted his target: the Bulwark Beast. It had tried to sneak up on him, only for it to step on one of his traps.

However, it was clear that its own, powerful body was able to resist the might of his placed magic. Stomping out the fire, it glared straight at Levi.

“Attack me then,” Levi said, his voice laced with mana.

The beast, undergoing the full pull of Levi’s words, headed forwards, only to step in another explosion, then another. THe further the monster travelled, the deeper it descended into a minefield of high explosive fire magic.

Hearing a wretched screech from above, Levi quickly positioned himself behind another tree.

Without further ado, Levi summoned his Relic: Baphomet's Spike. A large, black, diamond shaped arrow emerged from the middle of his shoulders.

He felt the added power immediately.

“2 versus 1,” Levi said with a grin, ignoring the pain throbbing from his wounded arm. “Let’s do this.”