'I don't want to go...'

Kaiser whined internally, knowing full well that complaining wouldn't do a thing to sway Alfred, who was currently dragging him along like a sack of potatoes after multiple times of futile persuasion including bribing him with gold, all of which failed in the face of the stern Hunter.

Kai also tried every trick in the book to avoid this situation. Like locking himself in the room, pretending to be asleep, hiding under the blankets with Ariella and Cia by his side. He had even made them promise to cover for him if anyone came knocking to make his excuse more believable which surprisingly became true due to his accumulated fatigue pulling him in the embrace of sleep. No way was he heading out tonight, not when he knew the Hunters planned to launch a massive operation to hunt down that mysterious monster or something similar.

Sure, he wasn't afraid of dying thanks to his immortality taking care of that. However, the false confidence it gave was limited by the uncertainty of having no idea if it covered the lost of limb. Experimenting isn't a pleasant idea, either.

Leaving him with his gruesome expectations -

What if that monster's exceptional devouring ability consumed his arm or leg, leaving him crippled? Who would look after Ariella and Cia then? Kaiser wasn't about to take that risk for a village he barely cared about. He wasn’t some noble hero out to save the day; he was just trying to survive in a world that didn’t make it easy.

Moreover, worse case scenario. He might actually die tonight in the devouring maw of the Monster. There's just too much dreadful uncertainties in tonights patrol... If it's still called a patrol, that is.

But Alfred wasn’t the kind of man who took no for an answer, he remained true to his words last night. Whether Kaiser was genuinely asleep or not didn’t matter; the big man busted through the door, grabbed him by the collar, and dragged him out without a second thought. Even Miss Lina, Ariella, or anyone else who tried to intervene couldn’t stop him. Kaiser didn’t stand a chance against Alfred's iron grip and authority.

And now, here he was, trudging through the cold night streets, fuming at his situation. He knew this was some kind of punishment, a consequence of last night’s events. Still, isn't it too much for defending himself?

That said, although, Alfred’s judgment was harsh but not entirely unjustified. After all, Kaiser had escalated the conflict on purpose, using it to his advantage to serve his interest in gaining reputation, which had led to unnecessary injuries and damage to the inn. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Alfred had an deeper motive. Maybe he just wanted another reliable fighter in his ranks to increase their odds of success in the upcoming hunt and reduce the death toll of his men's. Kaiser may had fought drunk men's back then, but that's still a commendable feat. It would be a waste to leave him sitting in the corner if his involvement could save some of his men from death. Kai might die, too. But that entirely depends to him.

Regardless, Kaiser had no choice but to go along with it.

After a while, they left the lightened houses of active residential area and passed by rows of abandoned houses, their hollow windows staring back like empty eyes. The darkness seemed to crawl through the cracks in the partially dismantled walls, casting deep shadows that twisted and flickered. These abandoned parts of the village looked like a ghost town, deserted by the former owners that had long migrated first to a larger settlement.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The sight of the desolate ghost town in the dark of night made him shivered slightly, aware that the mysterious monster can be anywhere. Maybe hiding in the darkness of eerie houses.

But his grim thoughts were cut short as his keen senses picked up movement ahead before his eyes did. Soon, voices floated through the night air, and soon enough, he saw them—a large group of hunters gathering in a clearing in front of a sturdy log house, tougher than the usual residences.

Before they got too close, Alfred finally let go of him. "Get in line," he said, rather, ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument. "And don’t even think about running off, unless you want to be included in the hunting list."

Alfred can't see as clearly as he did thanks to his beastial senses covering night vision to some extent.

Kaiser bit back a sarcastic remark, glancing at the so-called "line," at a distance which was more like a chaotic mess of hunters milling about. 'There’s no line, genius,' is what he wanted to say to the Hunter that dragged him here, but kept his mouth shut, settling for a lazy shrug instead.

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, waving Alfred off with a dismissive hand as he shuffled toward the crowd. The tinge of resentment he bore right now dull his mood to show respect to the dignified Hunter.

As he neared, Kai could already feel the discomfort settling in, the hum of chatter and nervous laughter grating on his nerves. Kaiser hated crowds and would rather prefer to be back in his quiet room at the inn, where he could rest in peace while seeing Ariella and Cia. Actually, most of his discomfort was due to his growing worries for them, having left them in their own for the first time was not a pleasant feeling. Making him constantly wonder if they're doing fine without him, or are they being assaulted by bad guys? Wait, did Alfred purposely dragged him away to do harm to his companions?!

Kaiser suddenly felt the extreme urge to run back, but hesitated and in the end, continued on his way towards the grouping Hunters.

'Happy thoughts, happy thoughts... Everyone aren't that evil, idiot. Stop being paranoid and overthinking too much, not everyone is an... Enemy . I'm sure Miss Lina and Mr. Maber would make sure they're safe. Besides, the villagers aren't that bad in reality.' Kai composed himself, soothing the turmoil in his mind and straightened his thoughts. In his opinion, his doing fine in regards to fixing his negative judgement. However, Kai can't help but add.

'If something happened to them... I guess the migration would be cancelled.'

Slightly shaking his head to throw off dark thoughts, he focused forward. And yes, Kai didn't really like getting near all these unfamiliar people that emits feral presence of warriors that ventured the wild. Unlike normal villagers, the Hunters was less timid, everyone seemingly prepared for battle if one arise. Draw their weapons and aim to kill with determined hearts honed in the wild. Their relatively savage appearance only made their presence more pronounced. Leather or iron armors encasing chiseled bodies, some had bulky arms intentionally left exposed. If anything most of them had in common, that's the Beasts furs dropped on their bodies.

He heard it was tradition for the Hunters to wear the skin of their toughest slay as momento, after fashioning them first, of course. Often designed to complement their armor, or outright serve as an extra garment.

Although, being in the presence of numerous intimidating Hunters bring unease within him. And considering that he beat twelve of their members in their drunken state recently. The Hunters view of him won't probably be pretty.

The idea of turning back became more alluring.

But he wasn’t about to give Alfred any reason to put his name on that hunting list. Fortunately, his short robe comes with a hood, so he pulled up his hood, hiding his face, and slipped into the throng of hunters.

As he moved closer, emerging from the shadows of a secluded corner, a few hunters turned to look at him, their eyes turning stern, flicking over his shadowed figure. But when they recognized him as just another human, they quickly turned back to their conversations.

Kai’s hood cast his face in darkness, preventing anyone from recognizing him in the assembly. Coupled by his silent nature and antisocial presence, making him nearly invisible among them. Kaiser silently mixed in the crowd.

He stood there, blending into the background, surrounded by the hum of voices, whispers, laughter's and uneasy energy of hunters readying themselves for the unknown. He kept his expression even, his mind already spinning with thoughts of what lay ahead, and how he could get through this night with as little trouble as possible. Kaiser's hearing was analyzing conversations, listening in for important Intel's regarding what tonight's event is really about.

Sadly, all there is, are floating personal gossips, bragging and talking about various experiences from their own hunts. Some are quarantining the real purpose of tonight's gathering, too.

Though, the wait was finally over as a big man with brown skin and muscles as big as trunks stepped in front. His arrival alone caused the crowd to fell silent, erasing any other sound other than his heavy footsteps making the wooden platform creek.

The leader of the Hunters, Alfred, had arrived.