Lunesday, 18th of Marcia, 470th Year of the 5th Era

Every breath felt significant as the young Josias laid low on the dirt ground of the great jungle lands and his eyes purposefully focused towards a single direction. In his right hand he held a short spear with a sharpened metal point whilst upon his waist was a curved sabre still sheathed in its scabbard. Besides his weapons, the young man was only equipped with a red headband to prevent his bangs and sweat from covering his vision and black pants fastened onto him by an intricately designed dark multicoloured cloth which acted as a belt where his sword and scabbard was attached to. His upper torso was bare, covered only by the leaves which had stuck to him from the ground as well as some traces of dirt which found itself smeared on his lean and muscular build. Next to Josias lay a large tiger, its stripes and golden-orange fur helping to conceal it on the ground and among the foliage with the saddle on it's back further covered in leaves and branches to assist in the camouflage. The eyes of the predator also trained towards the direction the young man was looking towards.

The light of the day was beginning to fade as the red sun was starting to set far into the Western horizon. Regardless of that, some of its golden rays were still shining through the gaps within the thick canopies of the jungle as it fell upon a great beast of a Rhinoceros, bulked up by excess mana from a nearby dungeon portal. The great beast perhaps stood a little over six feet tall, its hide looking like it was made of a hard and tough almost metal-like material. On its snout were two sharp horns of rugged yet sturdy ivory that appeared reddened, likely from the blood of other animals that it had fought with. The ears of the animal were twitching left and right in alert for other beasts as it was grazing the grass and leaves on the lower branches of the trees and some shrubs.

As the young hunter steeled himself, he looked towards the two other points where his companions were also lying in wait for the ambush upon the great beast. The young warrior-hunters had set out from their village since the dawn in a mission to track down the great Rhino beast whom the local populace had reported a few days earlier to be a menace, terrorizing the nearby farmlands in a territorial act of claiming the area for its own. Rhinoceroses were a common animal around the plains regions near the villages but it wasn't unheard of for the animals to be influenced by any nearby mana sources and transformed into menacing beasts that would continue on to become a danger towards the local area.

Sweat started to form on Josias’s brow as the pace of his heartbeat started drumming faster in his chest in a mixture of anxiety and excitement. This was the first major hunt and undertaking the young men had ever set out on without the accompaniment of the more experienced hunters and warriors. Josias was the most eager of all his peers to partake in the hunt to the chagrin of many of the Clan's elders at his insistence of putting himself in harm's way but he was adamant on taking the chance to prove himself. Though he had promised the elders of the village to act with utmost caution and deference, the eager smile that was currently plastered upon his face betrayed all promises of precaution. What he knew now was that his prey was grazing about seemingly unaware of the dangers that would befall it.

Josias saw his two companions looking at him while nodding to signal that they were ready. Josias nodded back and after saying a quick and silent prayer within his heart, he grasped his spear with intent as he slowly rose up from the ground while he gathered his mana and focused it within his right hand to strengthen his grip. As he began to stand up while careful so as to not rustle any branches or leaves to make any unnecessary noise to startle the beast and alert it to his presence, he changed the positioning of his spear within his grasp as he held it horizontally as a Javelin. A faint but clearly visible silver sheen-like aura coalescing around it. As he pulled his arm back, the aura's glow became brighter and shimmering spark-like sounds could be heard. At the same time the Rhino beast's ears twitched as it started to catch wind of the unusual sounds, Josiash unleashed the spear in his hand with all his might as he hurled it towards the beast with a heavy grunt as that single action took quite a bit of energy for him to pull off. The beast was caught partially off guard as the spear came at it at a speed that was faster than it could anticipate. Though the beast only barely managed to swerve its head to the side causing Josias to miss his mark, the spear still managed to hit the beast with much power, lodging itself into its left shoulder, piercing through the Rhino's tough hide causing the monster to shriek in great pain as its eyes began to glow red and it started fuming from its nostrils, shaking around in a berserk frenzy from the attack.

Josias immediately jumped atop the saddled tiger next to him as he unsheathed his sabre and poised it towards the beast as he unleashed his battlecry, “HAMATEAN!! (Death!)”. And with that cry, the great tiger beast beneath him immediately launched itself at the Rhinoceros. From two other angles surrounding the Rhino beast, his other companions also emerged on their tiger mounts as they too raised their spears and threw it at the beast before they mounted their tigers and charged as well, echoing Josias’s warcry. The two other spears that were hurled had pierced other parts of the Rhino's hide, being lodged in its right leg and spine, incensing the beast further as it began swinging its head madly, roaring and breaking apart even the larger trees around it. The three hunter-warriors and their mounts masterfully weaved through the dense thicket of the jungle as the tigers were adept at navigating the terrain all with their sabres still poised. It took but a mere minute for the three to reach close to the Rhino beast. Once more gathering his mana aura within his arm and weapon, as He charges past the beast, Josias slashed the beast with another great swing of his saber. The slash left traces of bright aura in the air as his strike drew blood from the beast. Though he gave a powerful strike, Josias gave a groan as it felt like he hit a hard boulder followed by his other compatriots.

The Rhino beast, though gravely wounded from the incessant onslaught by the hunters unleashed another furious roar as it slammed its head once more around, forcing Josias and his companions to weave their way around the beast, their tigers doing the heavy work of dodging and maneuvering whole their riders held on tight to their reins and their weapons. In an act of fury, the Rhino monster’s red eyes caught sight of Josias and disregarded his other two companions as the beast grazed the ground in preparation for a great charge. In the next moment, the beast roared once more as it rushed head first into Josias, seemingly ignoring its own wounded state. Josias did his best to swerve out of the Rhino's charge but maneuvering so finely in the thick of the jungle wasn't easy at all and so thinking quick, the warrior grabbed on to the medium-sized shield strapped to his tiger mount and quickly braced himself for the charge as he put mana into his shield to strengthen his stance whilst still endeavoring to do his best trying to get out of the way.

Though he did his best in trying to avoid the charge altogether, part of the Rhino's massive horns still managed to graze him and pierce a part of his metal shield. The hit landed onto his right side and even though it wasn't direct, the impact was felt immediately and strongly as the force from it blew Josias away from his mount and even managed to stagger the tiger. Josias felt as if the air from his lungs all escaped him at that moment as his eyes contorted while he grasped for air from the harsh impact he had received along with the feeling that some of his ribs as well as the muscle and bones in his left arm were tearing apart and cracked. It took Josias a large amount of mana and a couple more precious seconds to strengthen himself as best he could to get back up. Had he not expended the mana, he would've suffered even greater damage. Though staggering, it wasn't long before Josias repositioned his stance towards the Rhinoceros. A cracked shield on his left side and a bloodied saber in his right hand.

Not long before Josias had regained himself, the Rhinoceros was already ready to charge again as it unleashed another roar and commenced once more determined to end the young hunter that was after its life. It was clear that the beast's wounds were starting to affect it greatly as the Rhinoceros speed showed signs of slowing and its breathing grew more rugged but despite that, the force it displayed was still tremendously effective as it was galloping towards the bracing Josias. With his shield up and readied in front of him and his sabre raised above, he once more began gathering his aura to focus his attacks. He had been severely damaged before and he realised that one wrong move here could prove fatal. Catching wind of their companion's noticeable condition, the other two young warriors immediately started to prepare a charge to catch the beast by surprise. However, just as they were about to ready themselves while positioning their sabres towards the beast, Josias noticed this and shouted out, “Don't worry about me! This beast is mine!”

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Without waiting for any objections from the others, Josias instead did the daring move of counter charging towards the Rhino beast as he roared a battlecry from the top of his lungs. Just as the distance between the two closed, Josias bashed his shield towards the Rhino's horn with great force aided by mana which helped to slightly stop the beast and in turn he used the great and crushing force from the impact to pivot sideways and slash at the beast's neck. Ignoring the searing pain of the impact of the charge, Josias brought down his sabre with a slash of great force and with the help of his concentrated aura he caused a massive gnash on the beast's neck as he finally managed to bring it down as the Rhino's front legs gave up its strength as it came crashing and tumbling forward. Around the same time, just as Josias anticipated, a glowing aura started to appear around him as if manifesting from the left side of his chest where his heart would be. The young warrior gave a bright smile despite the massive pain he was in as he had attained a priceless growth in power due to the battle. His aura which was at the precipice of ascending finally surged as his very behind felt and acknowledged that he had reached the next level of power. Not wanting to waste anymore time, Josias approached close to the Beast which was now panting weakly on the ground as most of its blood was rapidly exiting its weakening body and with a final Stab to the beast's neck, the beast's roar turned into a whimper until finally silence prevailed.

Josias finally heaved a sigh of relief before he fell back towards the ground, his breathing ragged and body greatly aching in pain as the adrenaline was leaving him though despite that he had a massive smile of satisfaction plastered across his face as he reveled in his achievement. While he was laying sprawled out on the ground, not long after his beloved mount had rushed towards him before nuzzling its head on Josias. The young man laughed as he returned the affection by rubbing the furry beast under its neck and around its face before the beast started licking him.

“Alright boy! Ouch!! Hahahah! Stop licking me! You're going to tear my skin off if you do that!” Josias said while laughing as he continued to scratch his tiger companion. Not long after, his two companions had arrived and dismounted their beasts as well to check on their companion before one of the men came over to Josiash and squatted over so as to check on him.

“Are you bloody insane?! You could've gotten yourself killed! Oto (Idiot)!!” One of the other hunters - whose body had a larger frame than Josias and whose skin was slightly more tan than his - said to which Josias only returned the worry with a nonchalant laugh. The hunter only shook his head as he saw the terrible bruises on Josiash's body which was also covered in the Rhino's red blood from the earlier battle “Whew! You're covered in filth too! Bleh! Get yourself cleaned!”

As if on cue, Josias's other companion had taken out a plain cloth from a satchel strapped to the saddle of his own beast and threw it over towards him. “Hurry and use this to clean yourself.” The other Hunter said curtly before he went to his satchel again and took out a few items as he started to examine the corpse of the Rhino beast that was next to them. This other Hunter had a slimmer frame than his other two companions and was slightly shorter and he had a more neutral if somewhat slightly cold expression on his face and demeanor particularly when compared to Josias's other more animated companion.

“Oy, Hesekiel, can't you notice he's hurt?” The larger Hunter said in protest “At least help me get him up first!”

“I'm fine, Han. I just need a little- OW-!!” Without letting him finish talking, the other Hunter had just applied some slight pressure on the side of Josias’s chest with an unconvinced look “JOHANNES!! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!”

“Tch. You idiot, that shouldn't have hurt a ten year old child, let alone a two-star warrior.” Johannes shook his head “You're most definitely not fine.”

“He's actually a third-star warrior now.” Hesekiel chimed in, still seemingly disinterested as he rummaged through his satchel once more before taking out a small clay jar and throwing it towards the other two hunters before continuing to examine the Rhino corpse.

Johannes had caught the jar that was thrown before opening it and revealing a green-coloured ointment within. “Alright Lord third-star, try not to cry like a bitch while I apply this to you.” He said to Josias before he applied the ointment towards his injured comrade. Josias had winced once or twice in pain from being touched before the coolness from the ointment started to settle in.

“You know I can apply this to myself, Han.” Josiash said as Johannes was busy applying the ointment to his shoulder area

“Yeah well, I'm sorry I'm not Serena. Lord knows you'd be ecstatic if it were her doing this for you.” Johannes replied as he was about to finish up on the application.

“Who wouldn't be ecstatic to have the most beautiful girl in all the world take care of you?” Josiash said in a purposefully exaggerated tone as he stretched out his arms and hugged himself in a half-joking manner “I dedicate this victory to God, Goria, and to her! Do you think she'll be impressed with the scars I've earned from this battle?”

Johannes only gave him an awkward and slightly disgusted look before shaking his head and placing the ointment jar in Josias's hands, “You know what, you're right. You can apply this ointment yourself. I think Hese needs a hand in fastening the beast so we can bring it back home.”

Josias only laughed at his friend’s quick change in demeanor before deciding to press on. “I've said it once and I'll say it again, I fully intend to take her as my wife! We'll be betrothed by Christmas, I promise you that! It will be the most splendid wedding. I'll prepare only the best gifts for her as well as for The Lord Ephorus when I ask him for her hand which I'm sure he'll agree to! You know there's a spot that me and her used to…”

As Josias went on and on about his infatuation, Johannes merely shook his head while heaving out a sigh before making his way towards Hesekiel who had already begun the process of assembling an assortment of wooden planks as a platform to put the Rhino corpse on as they haul it back to their village. All of this while looking at Josias who was still on his lovestruck diatribe about the Lady Serena. Hesekiel showed a slight expression of exasperation at Josias before turning towards Johannes and shaking his head in slight disapproval at his earlier mention of Serena which elicited Josias's current annoyingly useless state.

“Don't look at me like that Hese…” Johannes said as he took out some pins from his satchel as well as ropes to help attach the platform to the saddles of the tigers to help in the transport of the corpse. It took them about half an hour to assemble the platform and it was about time to move the heavy Rhino corpse. “Alright, we have to move this beast now. Jo, I think we need your help here to… Jo?” Johannes had looked up to check on Josias who had grown quiet before realizing that he was no longer in his previous spot. As he scanned around, he was slightly startled as he let out a slightly high-pitched scream when he realised Josias was now already right behind them, preparing to help move the beast corpse.

“Pfft, what the hell was that, big guy?” Josiash said in a slightly teasing town as he chuckled. Even Hesekiel gave a slight smile at Johannes’ unexpected scream.

“Nevermind that! Ahem!” Johannes said with his face slightly reddened as he cleared his throat “Anyways, you should already be able to move again somewhat! Don't just stand there and help us move this bloody monster!”

“Alright, man, relax. Let's give this beast a proper heave…”

It took a concerted effort from the three young men to move the nearly three ton beast. Luckily, they all had at least one-star strength and they utilized some of their mana to help push the beast onto the platform. Josias could only pray that the simple platform they had assembled would hold up at least to the nearest settlement where they could get a more proper wagon to bring the corpse to their proper destination. And so with that in mind, the young men had fastened the platform to their tigers as well as trying some of the ropes to themselves to help pull the beast. It would be quite the effort for the combined strength of three men and their beast to pull nearly two and a half tons, but it would be worth it. It was only after several more moments and everything was prepared before the small party began their journey home. It was a good hunt with even greater gains and on the heels of their first major victory, the young men felt as if they were on top of the world and nothing could bring them down. And that may be so, but the world was large and no one knew what the future would have in store for anyone. Regardless, a victory was a victory and that was all that mattered at the moment.