Chapter Four - Wild Hunt
She had sensed it immediately; something new, and rare, and hers. Not quite within her territory but near enough for her to claim it as her own
Lua breathed deeply crouched amidst the undergrowth, her body pressed down into the dirt, listening and waiting. She had gone to take a look, of course she had, that was her job, she controlled the southernmost stretch of the valley, she was the fifth matriarch of the Gunmar basin and though her land was the smallest it was also one of the richest and that was true now more than ever.
Ever since it had arrived she’d been tailing it, she had seen it crawl out of its cave, a human, a child or at least that was what it had seemed. She had watched as it had travelled back and forth between the jungle and its home, from high in the trees she watched, and she had caught its' scent, his scent. It was male, a full grown male all appearances aside, and now it was hers. Lua had followed the man ever since, watching and waiting for him to cross over into the heart of her territory. If she claimed him before that the others would complain and if they complained they would fight, but if she obeyed the rules they wouldn’t be able to raise a finger against her or the system would punish them all.
She had watched him climb the mountains, and she had waited for his return, but it seemed that fate was not on her side. He had entered the jungle through the frogs’ territory. The frogs were the third matriarch, and though they were weak they were many, luckily they had no need for men. If they tried to take what belonged to her she would fight, and they would not risk the losses. So the man had moved unimpeded and unaware any creature that had hoped to take him warded off by the war waging in silence about him. Then he had come to the lake and entered its' domain and there was nothing either group could do. He had drank from the water, and laid in the grass, and leaned out further and further across the lake, and then he was gone. He landed on the grass a moment later with a splat, there was a flash of white and his body vanished dragged down into the water. Now he belonged to it and it likely didn't even realise what it had, or how it had been wasted. That was evidenced a moment later the water of the lake beginning to boil.
So the first man to enter the jungle for nearly twenty years had been lost. But of all the matriarchs Lua was the smartest, her mother had told her thousands of tales of humans, of how they lived and more often how they loved; there was still a chance no matter how small. If he had been a hero, if he could revive then he could still be hers. So Lua had taken the man’s bag and pulled it quite securely into her own territory away from the lake; now all she had to do was wait.
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Two solitary eyes glowed within the darkness, burning with a golden light, a primal fire that seemed to draw him in with an almost hypnotic effect. Torr stood stock still, watching as the pair of eyes rose up higher and higher in the night until they glared down upon him from above. They were predatory, hungry; a sudden chill riding its way down his spine and he knew what it was to feel fear. Torr blinked stumbling backwards his mind clearing briefly as he pulled his sword forwards tempered steel practically glowing under the moonlight the blade directed forwards into the dark and the figure rising from it. A feminine form slowly resolved from the shadows, illuminated by the glow of the plant life and the silvery lustre of the stars.
She towered above him, looming in the shadows well over six-foot tall although his recent change in perspective made it harder to judge for certain. Somewhere deep down inside Torr cursed Tsubaki's sense of taste not that he had much time to dwell on it.
He swallowed hard, as she stepped forwards with a swaying gait. Her hips were tight and her waist slender, layers of muscle rippling over her stomach up towards her chest which exploded outwards. It was almost unnatural, the rest of her body seemed taught and toned, but that portion of her remained soft, supple, swaying right in front of his face... Torr blinked a sudden heat rising up into his cheeks, as he looked back up towards the woman’s face. She was beautiful, but there was no denying she was very far from human. A pair of small round ears sprouted up from the top of her head out of her hair, her eyes glowing in the dim light reflecting the glower of the moon, though it was her arms and legs which seemed the most unusual of all, they were large, in the place of hands and feet she had paws which seemed slightly too large for her body being over twice the size of Torr’s hands. A set of obsidian black set of claws sprung forward from the pads of her paws curling forwards through the dark, her arms being completely covered in fur reaching all the way up to her shoulders and the upper portions of her thigh, a long tail swaying behind her. The girls skin a deep tan, her fur a luminescent yellow now turned silver beneath the moonlight, dark spots curling across her fur and hair alike as she stalked towards him nude but for a couple worn hide rags covering the bare minimum of her chest and her privates a single ebony white shell hanging from a leather thong about her neck. She was a monster girl in the truest sense, some kind of big cat, maybe a leopard at his guess, in either case she was drawing closer.
And then just as quickly as she started her advance she stopped dead in her tracks, the predatory gleam within her eyes dying low as she looked down to him with something strange, something different, eyes wide with something akin to wonder, the monster girl reaching out towards him. Torr stepped back edging closer towards the jungle, keeping his sword between them, the leopard girl didn’t move to follow. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all but... No she... She was going to attack him that much was obvious. The necklace! The necklace had probable stunned her or something he still needed to run though he doubted he’d be able to outpace her through the jungle. That meant there was only one solution. Torr raised his sword up stepping forwards to attack, the girl’s eyes widening as she stumbled backwards onto her ass, mouth hanging open in something close to awe as she looked up towards him, helpless, defenceless... He lowered his sword and turned to run sprinting towards the darkened path which he himself had cut through the jungle.
His chest hurt, his heart rattling against his ribcage attempting to escape, a wave of adrenaline coursing through his veins and spurring him forwards with every step. Agh he should have just attacked her he didn’t want to die again and be subjected to another night time stroll, but she was alive, he couldn't deny that after looking in her eyes, they were intelligent even if they were a bit bestial. They were the eyes of a cat that had finally managed to corner a mouse up until that last moment, until she’d looked him in the eyes and then, then they were different somehow.
But he still should have attacked, he didn’t necessarily have to kill her just slow her down, a quick slash to the ankle would have been enough. He was probably going to regret just running away. Behind him, a wailing roar rose up over the trees spilling forwards through the dark, oh crap, oh crap it seemed like the chase had finally begun.
Torr let out a fevered cry, pushing himself harder and harder to the brink of his ability a second, the sound of breaking branches and what he dreaded was the uprooting of trees echoing from behind him as he ran. She was closing in, he just needed to; ah crap he was going to die, no, no it was worse, he was going to be raped. Crap, what was the safe word again? Damn it why hadn't he just chosen something normal, like ‘help’ or ‘exit’ or ‘get me the hell out of here!’
Torr let out a cry, a wave of tears streaming down his face as he felt his legs pulled out from under him by an errant root his body tumbling end over as he rolled out of the jungle finally coming to a stop, a granite cliff face braking his fall. Torr hurried to his feet, a steady trickle of blood slipping from his nose, a memento of his tender embrace with the mountainside, before he began to hike his way up the slopes, pulling himself higher and higher, the thunder of braking trees suddenly drawing to a halt. He turned slowly crouching on his vantage point roughly halfway up the mountain, a small figure waiting below hanging at the mouth of the jungle, a deep swathe of devastation lying in her wake. There was no way, no way he was going to be able to fight that monster, she'd uprooted god damn trees just to get at him, honestly he had no idea how he'd even managed to get such a large head start in the first place. Now she was just sitting there at the bottom of the mountain panting, a wide grin splitting her face revealing jagged white teeth. She could see him clear as day, he could feel it her eyes pinning him in place. She was playing with him that was it, waiting for him to exhaust himself so she could attack! Torr swallowed turning and continuing his climb up the mountain at an ever more frantic pace, his half fallen red flag fluttering in the breeze above him his cave waiting on high. Maybe if he got inside he'd stand a chance, she was a lot taller than he was after all he doubted she'd be able to move that easily in a confined space. Torr clambered up the last hurdle launching himself forward and bolting down into his hidey hole crawling deep into the earth before un-slinging his backpack and drawing up his sword blade pointed towards the waiting night, and the danger that lurked within...
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
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The night drew on, the moon arced its way across the sky and as it disappeared beyond the far horizon a grey dawn rose up in its place, the valley drawn in shadow, as the sun struggled to raise its head above the mountains, the world drenched in a grey mist that rose from the jungle floor and spread though the valley on the a stifling breeze. Clack- Torr bolted upright, his sword slipping from his grasp, the young man rising up to his full height, his head banging into the ceiling above. He let out a small yelp dropping down onto his haunches. The good thing was he was wearing that black helmet that had appeared on him last night, and aside from the shock of it he didn't feel life he'd been hurt.
After arriving in his cave and buckling down for the night, nothing had happened the monster girl hadn't attacked he'd just been sitting tight inside his cave staring out into the darkness, waiting. After roughly two stress filled hours of doing nothing he had worked up the nerve to run even further away, retreating as far into the cave as he could possibly and finally upon reaching the very back of the cave Torr had found what he'd been looking for all along, a pool of dark water still as a mirror and cold as ice. Several hours of cursing later interrupted by periodic bursts of silence spurred on by the slightest foreign sound, the scraping of rock of a distant bird cry he finally had the sense to put some clothes on. This time he decided he'd be wearing the green tunic, now all he needed was pointy ears and a little green hat. After his sudden unexpected death Torr had lost all of the normal items that had been on his person namely his water skin, his tunic and his hand-axe although he would probably be able to find his hand-axe if he went back to the lake it was probably lying in the grass around there, though that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
He let out a low groan rubbing at his face following it up with a yawn, he'd been awake all night and now he was tired, very tired. It seemed that even the game had recognised his lack of sleep seeing fit to label him with a new debuff.
SLEEP DEFICIENCY: Rank 1 Lack of sleep causes a ten-percent decrease in all stats and to all skill modifiers
There was even a little symbol flashing gently hanging over to the far left hand corner of his vision a picture of a closed eye with a Z over it. Of course it wasn't like he could just start dozing off when that monster was waiting for him outside.
He had no idea how the developers were expecting players to fight monsters like that at first level, although he supposed they really weren't expecting many people to fight at all. This game was basically all about raising your own harem army. Torr frowned snorting to himself and huddling up closer to the edge of the pool, there was no way he was going to get involved in all of that. He had no intention of having relations with a bunch of animal girls, besides if he couldn't get normal women life him he’d never get monster girls to, wait why would he want them to like him in the first place! Although now that he thought back to it that girl from last night had been very pretty...
No, it was probably just the adrenaline and lack of sleep messing with his head.
Torr sighed eyes drooping as he reached down to remove his sword from where it had fallen against the stone pulling it tight to his chest. His gaze fixated on the endless winding passage of the tunnel tinged in its grey light his head swirling with the danger that lay beyond. He really was so tired.
CRACK- A new sound echoed down the cave this one more familiar than any before it Torr bolting upright waking from a light sleep and scrambling onto his feet and this time he remembered not to bang his head against the ceiling. He had the distinct sensation a long time had passed since he had fallen asleep, at the very least his sleep deficiency buff had vanished. He was going to take that as a good sign. Torr yawned brushing himself down, there was no use in just lying around doing nothing, this world was a video game, maybe it was a very realistic one but it was a video game none the less. Sure he could die but so what he'd just respawn again in half an hour and be back to work as normal, he could risk it. There was no way he was going to hide inside his cave forever; he was going to check what that noise had been
Torr swallowed hard before forcing a large grin up across his face holding his sword in front of him like a spear. He just had to remember, he was a one-hundred-and-twenty year old man, and with that age came experience and if there was one thing that bastard he called his brother had taught him it was this: aim for the face.
There was nothing that could stop him now.
He crept his way forwards through the damp and the dark, the world slowly growing warmer as he neared the light of the entrance and soon enough he stood at the edge of his cave. The world beyond was bright and beautiful, flowers blooming amidst the rocky outcrops the narrow fields of grass sprouting from the stone bright and green and lush, not a single monster or monster girl in sight. Torr took a deep breath stepping over the boundary sword clutched tight in hand, scanning the world before him. It felt off somehow...
A streak of dark red blurred his vision Torr stepping backwards a bundle of dark red cloth falling down lying amidst the grass. He stood huddled in the shadows for a brief moment before realisation struck him; it was his tunic the one he had strung up as a flag the day before... Wait a minute no, no! Torr turned on his heels towards spot where his flag should have stood. The mast had fallen down completely now and was lying in bits and pieces across the grass the several long branches he had tied together coming free. Great just perfect, now he was going to have to make a new one. An exasperated sigh escaped his lips as he stepped forwards to grab his impromptu flag a low vibration passing through the air behind him, a sudden realisation springing down upon him upon him.
Torr span on his heels swinging out with his sword the blade howling as it flew a wave of lightning splitting the day illuminating the figure of the leopard girl as it arced harmlessly over her head and as Torr struggled to bring the blade back around she kicked out. Her lithe form sailed through the air in his direction, arms outstretched eyes wide open, Torr stumbling backwards and drawing his blade in close angled upwards towards the descending monster and this time the blade connected a weak and glancing blow another shock of lightning exploding forwards her figure growing stiff as she collapsed on top of him.
Torr kicked out pushing the leopard girl off of him shuffling back through the grass the edge of the ledge resting in front of his cave breathing heavily and dragging himself up onto his feet. The leopard girl lay still for a moment pale blue lightning arcing about her as slowly she began to remove forcing her way back up onto her feet. That wasn't right, his sword was ranked mythical, it should have done more than give her a light zap, true he hadn’t really stabbed her so much as she had sort of fell on him but he couldn’t even see a cut or a scratch on the monster girl. This wasn’t good! Torr swallowed pushing himself up attempting to take a fighting stance, like he'd seen characters do in cartoons and anime, legs a shoulders width a part side facing forwards sword raised in front of him. The leopard girl sneezed dispelling the last of the electric charge and shooting him a glare. That definitely wasn't good.
All of a sudden fighting her seemed like a very, very bad idea. Now what Torr needed to do was get back to his cave, of course that meant getting around the leopard girl before she could get to him, it seemed like there was only one option; hit and run. Torr rushed forwards sword raised over head the leopard girl tilting her head to regard him as he approached. His blade came down as her arm went up the two meeting in midair before she batted his weapon away the blade unable to so much as pierce the skin. The leopard girl grinned reaching out to grab his wrist, his sword clattering down from his grip as she lifted him up by the arm. "Get off of me!" Torr yelled driving a kick into the girls' midsection while attempting to use his free had to strike at her face “Get off of me you rapist freak!" he screamed voice carrying out across the valley.
Torr felt the pressure on his wrists vanish as he tumbled back onto the floor, the leopard girl staring blankly into the distance... He wasn't quite sure what was going on, maybe the game had glitched or something? He gave a rough shake of his head rushing forwards to grab his sword from where it had fallen before running as fast as he could towards his cave stopping to catch his breath once safely inside and finally turning back around to glance in the monster girls' direction. She was just standing there, still and lifeless. He swallowed hard, this was weird Torr reached up pointing a finger in the girls direction and taping the air in front of him. A moment later a watered down version of her character sheet full of various ? appearing before him
NAME/??? AGE/??? GENDER/Female RACE/Jaguar Girl LEVEL/480 Affetion/100
Level four-hundred-and-eighty... Huh.