The siblings were incredibly grateful after sharing a sumptuous breakfast with Merida.

Finally feeling some energy returning to his body, Liam pondered how to earn some money.

He didn’t dare to ask Merida, lest the doctor looked down on him, thinking he only wanted to play games after finally finding a place to live.

Although this was exactly what he planned on doing. Naturally, he dared to do so because he was confident that this was a fast way to earn more money.

However, for now he had to come up with something else.

“Three days…”

Liam felt some pressure. What could he do to earn money in three days?

For the homeless there were two main methods to get their hands on some credits.

One was to ‘find’ things and sell them to Ben. The other was to work at a factory at the edge of the city, skinning beasts.

Liam found a modern tablet in the living room, browsing the internet for alternatives.

At the same time, he quickly looked up the price for a virtual reality console. But doing so left him in despair as he would have to pay at least 7,5k credits.

This insane price completely eliminated all his options. Only one of them remained but it was incredibly risky.

Well, I don’t have a choice. This time I’m really facing a challenge.

Liam ignored the conflicting emotions in his chest as he told Serena and Merida that he would be working today.

Merida encouraged him, offering to take Serena with her and letting her help in the clinic.

Naturally Liam accepted readily. It would be great for Serena to follow Merida and learn something. After all, the poor girl hadn’t been to school for four years.

Thus, the siblings separated as Liam went back to the lower city. He had to walk for a while. The surrounding buildings gradually grew smaller, the environment becoming more industrial. The factory Liam worked in from time-to-time was not far away from here.

But Liam didn’t go there as he soon reached the giant wall separating the city from the hostile wilderness.

Falva Star hasn’t been populated for a long time. Thus, the planet wasn’t tamed yet, with nature still occupying a large part of it. It was different from humanity’s older planets where every little spot was occupied by someone.

Liam felt his heart pound as he walked up some stairs near the wall, reaching a special part of the city.

All kinds of rough figures gathered here, ready to risk their lives in the wilderness for some quick money.

Liam entered a square, feeling skeptical eyes following him. This was the first time he also spotted a few martial artists. However, none of them were really powerful.

The bloody aura surrounding them still put some pressure on Liam as he passed them, eyeing the sharp swords dangling from their bodies.

Not daring to stare, Liam quickly entered a few stores, buying some basic equipment, spending another thousand credits.

Liam smiled wryly as the money ran out of his hands like sand. But this was necessary if he wanted to have a chance in the wilderness.

Completing his preparations Liam came to a stop in front of the enormous gate leading outside. It was surrounded by stern soldiers eyeing Liam with sharp eyes.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The young man was confused about what to do, having no choice but to approach one of the soldiers.

“Hey, can you open the gate for me, please?”

Liam didn’t dare to be disrespectful. But the soldier completely ignored him.

Liam frowned as a few of the surrounding hunters snickered. Luckily there were some helpful people among them as well.

A tall man with three scars on his face wearing a thick red armor approached Liam:

“Yo. You new here?”

“Yes.”

“Mhm thought so. You need to register.”

With those words the hunter pointed at a building. Above its entrance ‘hunters office’ was written in bold red letters.

“Oh. Ok. Thank you for reminding me.”

“Are you planning to go out alone?”

“Yes.”

“You’re suicidal.”

“What?”

“I can offer you to join our party.”

Liam was taken aback. He looked at the hunter strangely, certain that there was a catch to it.

“Don’t look at me like that. We can never have enough hands.”

At this moment a woman approached. She came to a stop next to the hunter.

“Boss, another newbie?”

“Yeah.”

“You, newbie. Don’t be surprised. The boss has always had the strategy of overwhelming beasts with numbers.”

The tall hunter nodded at his colleague.

“And it’s successful, right?”

“It is.”

Liam stared closely at the two hunters as he voiced his doubts:

“How high are your casualties?”

The boss simply shrugged his shoulders.

“High. But being a hunter is inherently risky.”

Liam nodded calmly.

“You’re probably right. But I still have to decline. I need to make a lot of money.”

“Haha. This isn’t the first time I have heard those words. How much do you need?”

“Seven and a half thousand in three days.”

Instantly the hunter’s face froze. He shook his head.

“Impossible.”

“What?”

“Only the most experienced hunters can earn this much.”

“Really?”

The female hunter saw the heavy frown on Liam’s face. She hesitated for a moment before whispering:

“There is a chance.”

“There is? Can you tell me?”

“If you manage to come back with a beast egg, you will earn big. But trying to do so is indeed suicidal.”

Liam’s expression was solemn but inwardly he came to a decision.

Afterwards he asked a few more questions before thanking the two hunters and walking towards the hunters office.

Registration was fast despite Liam not having an ID. But this was a common occurrence in the office, where all kinds of poor fools came to try their luck.

Thus, Liam soon held a bronze medal in his hand. Showing it in front of the large gate, a separate door was opened for him, allowing him to leave the city.

Liam felt his heart beat wildly as he walked through a narrow corridor.

Soon he arrived in the wilderness.

Liam took a whiff of the air. Compared to the city it was incredibly clean, containing no smog or the smell of unwashed humans.

A look around revealed the enormous city wall behind him. It was surrounded by large plains covered in snow, revealing various tracks.

Far to the right was a street connecting to another city. It was regularly patrolled, discouraging any beasts from drawing near. Behind it laid a few plantations producing food for the city.

Lastly Liam looked ahead at the towering trees in the distance.

Calming his mind the young man began to step forward. His movements changed gradually, resembling the steps of hunters in the game.

Liam was silent, his mind vigilant, as he reached the forest after a while. His footsteps produced as little sound as possible despite the snow.

Keeping his breath shallow, Liam found some confidence as he managed to observe a few deer playing outside the forest.

Normally newbie hunters would probably be delighted to hunt these common animals.

But Liam had no choice but to go after beasts, which were more or less extremely powerful alien animals with the potential to increase their strength over time.

However, the really powerful beasts didn’t live close to the city. They usually stayed around the Ancient Civilization’s ruins for some reason.

Liam let out a sigh as he remembered that his parents went missing in one of them.

Suddenly the deer perked up. Liam reprimanded himself. This was no game! A low sound had already alerted the animals.

Liam watched them jump away, branding this lesson in his mind.

With renewed vigilance he sneaked into the forest. A dense foliage welcomed him, forcing him to take every step carefully.

Snow fell from the leaves as Liam’s body brushed against them. Fortunately, he bought comfortable leather armor which served to keep him warm in the harsh weather.

However, as Liam moved deeper into the forest the temperature even rose since the towering trees prevented the warmth from escaping.

Suddenly Liam heard a sound nearby. He calmly took off his bow which was slung around his upper body.

Treading carefully, he approached a large bush growing near a tree trunk, hiding within it.

Holding his breath the young man peeked around the trunk.

Liam furrowed his brows as he spotted a kind of small wolf with dark brown fur sniffing the ground.

He just realized that he didn’t have much knowledge about the local beasts. He could only recognize them based on the vague pressure beasts usually emitted.

Liam pondered if it was worth going back but he didn’t have a suitable source of information.

I can’t expect all the hunters to teach me…

Not able to come up with other options, Laim could only continue. As the beast slowly distanced itself, he advanced deeper into the forest.

Soon, he arrived before a small hill. A pack of scaled beasts slowly circled it, leisurely feeding on the foliage.