Chapter 3 – Life 2 – Year 72 – The Hunt

What the hell was all that? I have all these new memories… a young man, living decades after the flare… I knew the rumors that gunpowder was getting more flammable but for a single shot to create such an explosion was…

But wait! That doesn’t matter! What matters is, I blacked out and… was? Someone else. Someone who kind of remembered… being me? But now I AM me again… right? Wait, what was my name, again? …okay, what was that KID’S name? …nothing? God, this memory stuff is killing me! …Not as much as the stags, though, they’re the bane of my existence in both of my lives.

…Uh, hey, now that that’s over with, can I get a bit of explanation as to, you know, what the actual FUCK is going on here?

Choose your next Focus: Yin or Yang

Oh for… not again! Give me some answers this time, please?

Choose your next Focus: Yin or Yang

Okay, okay, whatever… not like I have anything better to do. I am still a scientist at heart, so I need a good sample size of one variable before changing it. Yang Focus!

…Hello? Is something going to ha-

Focus Chosen. Reincarnating…

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I woke up feeling strangely groggy. That won’t do. I need to be in top performance to win this competition.

The swordsman who lives in the temple says that he has killed dozens of monsters without a scratch on him, and everyone seems to believe him. If I am to avenge my mother, I need to learn how he did it. I need to become strong… so that no-one else has to go through what I did.

I’m no fool, I know that the world has been in a state of Collapse and decline for the past 7 decades, but I am a believer in the human spirit. So long as we take breath, we have the power to master our fates! We have done it before, and we shall do it again!

The swordsman says that he will only take on 1 disciple, and so people have gathered around from across the island of Nihon to show that they deserve to be that disciple. I have done well so far, winning the first 3 rounds with ease despite the blunted training weapons we must work with.

But the final round is much more challenging. I had expected a free-for-all or something of that nature, but the swordsman is devious. To prove ourselves to him, we must find and kill a beast. No-one says that it hast to be a true monster, but should you bring back a carcass that is lesser than the other competitors… no, there is no room for laziness.

It is somewhat strange, to have to kill a monster before learning how to easily kill monsters, but I suppose the swordsman just wants to make sure we are not wasting his time. There are three monsters common to this region. The first is a kind of burrowing worm, which is attracted to loud sounds. Sadly, a single human scream is typically enough to attract 10 or more of them. I don’t think I should attempt them.

The second is a kind of sea bird, allegedly able to fly across oceans in a day. I don’t know how anyone living after the Collapse could learn such a thing, but that’s what they say. The speed is impressive, but they can be hard to find.

The third is a strange thing called the Tengu, whose large nose and similarity to a flightless bird got it named after some mythical being. I suspect most of my competitors will think of going after one as it is the most challenging to fight. Their noses aren’t just for show, they can hunt those who think they are hunting them for miles. I suspect the swordsman expects us to know our limits, and bringing back a dead sea bird will be superior to being wounded in a Tengu ambush and bringing back nothing at all.

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As the sun rises, I focus on my breathing exercises. Something about the sunrise makes me feel more in tune with myself. I wake up every day as early as possible as a result. And today, I am rewarded. After my morning routine, I hear, at surprisingly close distance, a distinctive bird call. I carefully nock an arrow before catching sight of the bird, and when I do see it, perched on a branch, I take deep breaths before finally… I let loose the arrow! But would it hit? If I missed, the bird could be halfway to the continent by the time I ready a second attack! I *willed* the arrow to stay on target… and I felt strangely tired, all of a sudden. But then I hear a *THOCK*.

In a single strike, the bird is dead! But as I approach it, something feels… strange. Not in a bad way, though. In fact, it feels similar to how I feel just at the crack of dawn. I’m uncertain why I would feel this good twice in one day… is it just because this is my first time killing a monster? Regardless, I collect my kill and return to the campsite set below the temple of the swordsman.

Upon my return, all I see are many competitors who look very bedraggled, cut up by worm teeth or Tengu claws. But just as dusk arrives, signaling the end of the competition, an arrogant young man shows up… holding the corpse of a Tengu in his arms!

On closer look, the Tengu appears quite chewed by worms, as does the man. Clearly, he took advantage of a fight between the two species. This requires more luck than skill, but the swordsman could just as easily say luck is skill on its own. I am suddenly very uncertain how his decision will go…

At sunset, the swordsman descended his temple on the hill. He was dressed in all white, a strange choice, and had a magnificent sword strapped to his side. He was always searching the skies with his eyes, searching for what I could not say.

He looks around at the collection of competitors. “Five months ago, I declared I would take on a disciple… so long as a worthy competitor can be found. You have fought not only each other, but you have also fought the monsters that have seen fit to devour us. But does mere fighting make you worthy of the power I possess? Let me look at you, all of you…”

The competitors gradually formed a line, in which the enigmatic man looked at each person for only a few seconds before swiftly rejecting them. Many burst out into tears at such a dismissal. Likely, they had struggled to travel here. Finally, the swordsman looked at the two of us: me, and the young man with the Tengu. The young man grinned in satisfaction. I sighed.

The swordsman concentrated on us both for a long time, far longer than any of the others. He didn’t even seem to look too hard at our kills. Then, he spoke. “The boy with the Tengu… has shown creativity and cleverness.” The Tengu-killer grinned even more. “BUT! What are clever tricks in the face of true power? What are clever tricks when faced with a Tengu who is not beset by burrowers? What strength is there… in being told to kill a monster, and finding a monster that is already dead, then simply slashing wounds in it after the fact?” The young man’s face fell. I looked closer at the sword strikes of the Tengu and realized that no blood had leaked out of them, only the spots where the worms had attacked. The Tengu’s corpse had likely been sitting there for days before the man found it. It was as the swordsman said.

This young lady, on the other hand, shows great promise! This sea bird only has a single arrow wound, and her quiver is only one arrow lighter than when she left.” He… was keeping track of me? Before the finale started? “I select her as my disciple!”

The young man dropped the Tengu corpse unceremoniously, walking away. I went over to the swordsman. “Sir, I thank you for your consideration. I may have won the round with a bow and arrow, but I assure you I can just as easily wield a swor-“ He shook his head.

“Now, now. Your choice of weapon matters little for what I am about to teach you. Sword, arrow, whip, and so-on, I will show you that speed and accuracy are key for all. What is truly important, however… is that I sense you have the potential to learn the mysteries of the Air Moon.”

I blinked. Everyone knew the Watchers had strange effects if you stared at them for too long, but I hadn’t known the swordsman had done so. That was how he obtained his power? …or was he simply mad, and I had made a big mistake? Everyone knew the Air Moon, called that because all of its creations were either fast, flying, or both, made one paranoid and anxious.

The swordsman gave me a sly look. “I can guess fairly easily what you are thinking. No, I have not stared at the Air Moon to the point of madness and called it wise. No, I have found a genuine path to power. Just as the monsters can use strange and powerful abilities to devour we humans… I have found we can take those powers for ourselves!”