Bucko didn’t even hear anyone come close to him. Even jaguars and tigers couldn’t approach him without him knowing about it. The product of years and years on the hunt gave him that sort of extra sense of his surroundings.
However, he didn’t see this new guy who seemingly came out of nowhere. Bucko only noticed his presence when he spoke up. Meaning if he hadn’t, then the unknown person would have remained undetected.
One second, his sword was swinging down towards Uno’s head, and the next, he felt his sword stop in the middle of the air. He knew the feeling of a sword hitting flesh and bone. He even knew if he accidentally hit the tree behind Uno. However, this was different.
He couldn’t even try to take back his sword. No matter if he used all of his strength, his sword was still stuck in the middle of the air! He wouldn’t even feel this sort of resistance if he buried his sword deep in stone! How could his sword not even budge?!
This was supposed to be his weapon of mastery, the piece of equipment that he had full control over.
But he felt utterly helpless. He couldn’t pull away his sword. In the side of his eye, he saw a bright yellow color. This must be the intruder, the one who gripped his sword with his bare hands. This was a sword made by humans! He had to sacrifice a month’s worth of food to buy this sword from humans!
The sharpness of his sword could cut a tree as thick as a Thall in one swift move. Even hippopotamus bones could not withstand an experienced hunter’s sword. How could it be caught with bare hands?! Not only that, the intruder’s grip was so strong that Bucko couldn’t take control of his sword.
The intruder was able to manifest much stronger strength with just his fingers than Bucko could with his whole body working together in sync.
Understanding this discrepancy, Bucko unfortunately had to let go of his sword. If he wanted to survive and launch a counter-attack, he needed to retreat to a safe place and reassess the situation. Who was he fighting? Why was he so strong? Was he one of those humans who had supernatural strength?!
He quickly stepped back and went on all fours. His thick body hair stood up, making his whole body look much bigger than it was. This was the defense mechanism for Thalls, making the illusion that they had spikes like that of a porcupine. Of course, it was nothing more than soft hair.
But that wasn’t the only purpose of these hairs. It also acted as a second skin, making them much more sensitive to their surroundings. Bucko knew that he was facing a far stronger opponent than a bear. A bear’s greatest strength was its pure brute strength. This new opponent was someone with a great intellect like him, with nimble yet strong hands that could catch a sword in mid-air.
Once Bucko was sure that he was at a safe distance against his new opponent, he dilated his eyes and looked at this new intruder.
His eyes widened when he saw that this new opponent stood on both legs and he had both arms on its side. The most surprising part of that was the guy’s skin. It was yellow! Bucko would have thought he was facing another Thall if it weren’t for the lack of hair on the guy.
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Not only that, the guy’s face was refined and sculpted into a thin and narrow face. His jaws weren’t enlarged like that of Thalls. His face looked more human than a Thall!
But how could that be possible? It was like he was looking at the crazy fusion of a human and a Thall! This freak of nature had the distinct yellow skin of Thalls, yet with the sophistication of a human. Even his eyes looked calm and calculating, like that of human merchants. He couldn’t be more confused.
Who was he facing?
“Who are you?!” Bucko shouted.
However, this new guy didn’t face him. Instead, he looked over at Uno and looked at him with endearing eyes. There was a sense of happiness and sadness in his gaze. And when he looked at the blood flowing down his mouth, Bucko could have sworn he saw the anger of a lion in him.
“You’re fine…I’m here now.”
Uno forced his eyelids open, his vision blurry. That smiling face was familiar. It was the same smile of the man that would wake him up early in the morning for hunting practice. Even his calming voice sent Uno back to his childhood, back to when he didn't have to go to hunting school.
“Fa…ther…”
Achram smiled. Even after his body changed after his evolution, his son still recognized him. That was the unspoken bond between father and child. He could see that Uno wasn’t surprised at all, he was relieved.
Uno must have never wavered in his belief that Achram was still alive.
“Mother…: Uno’s energy and life force was dwindling by the second from his injuries, yet he still forced his body to point toward his mother and his siblings. He thought that saving him was too late, but his father could still help them.
Seeing this, Achram couldn’t help but tear up. “You’ve done a good job being the protector of our family. But now that I’m back, I’ll take care of this.”
Achram then took out the Treant’s bark strapped on his shoulder. He tore out three small pieces of bark and fed it to his son. He used the rest of the healing bark and patched it to Uno’s injuries.
As soon as the bark made contact with Uno, it immediately stuck into his skin and stopped the bleeding. A dim green light glowed out of the bark, an after-effect of the healing powers that were endowed with it.
Thanks to the Treant’s gift, Uno’s life is not endangered anymore. Achram made sure to remember this gift and repay it to the Treant someday.
“No…” Bucko muttered. He listened to the father and son’s conversation and realized the truth. Even if he didn’t want to believe it, the similarities between this new freak and Achram kept popping up in his head.
Even if his jaws sharpened, even if his nose got smaller and narrow, even if his eyes got more complex, Bucko still put the two images together. He couldn’t believe it. This new guy was Achram!
Bucko’s body hair stood up even more. If he was fighting a bear or a human that was much stronger than him, he wouldn’t feel this threatened. At least with those opponents, he knew the extent of their strength. However, now that he knew this was Achram, his danger instincts tingled even more.
Achram was supposed to be dead. He should be a freezing corpse in the mountains. He should have returned alive back to the village, much less changed to this extent. He didn’t know what he was facing. What had Achram turned into?
He was a mediocre hunter, while Bucko was one of the premier hunters in the village. He shouldn’t have become this strong! It was impossible.
Bucko was feeling fear. And he hated that. The only way he could destroy that feeling was to destroy the one who made him feel that way. Achram was still facing his son, leaving his back vulnerable to an attack. He smiled.
Achram was still the weak hunter he was before. Even if his body changed, his hunting skills were still sub-par.
‘Rule 12 of hunting. Don’t turn your back to the enemy!’
Bucko looked at his sword on the ground and a plan emerged on his head. As soon as Achram turned his face one more time, he would pounce towards his sword and use it to pierce through Achram’s head!
He bent his body low, mimicking a tiger about to pounce. And just as the moment when he was sure that Achram couldn’t see him, Bucko lunged towards the sword.
He was one of the fastest hunters in the village, so he was confident in his speed. And before even a second passed, he was already at the sword. With swift movement, he struck the sword downwards.
This caused the sword to push up, allowing Bucko to easily pick it up from the ground.
With the momentum he gathered, he used all of his speed and his body weight to push the sword tip to the back of Achram’s neck. This would surely decapitate him!
That was the consequence of disregarding the hunting rules! He wasn’t even going to know what hit him. He would just feel a lightness as the whole world turned on its side!
That was what Bucko thought. When he looked up, Achram’s head was slightly turned towards him, showing only his left eye. But with just that one eye, Bucko felt as naked as the day he was born. He felt like Achram knew everything that would happen. He only let it be because he wanted it to.
He wanted to retreat to the ends of the village. But it was too late.