Chapter 66

Having both arms crushed, and one shoulder dislocated, hurt like crazy. Interestingly though, damage wise, it hadn’t been that bad. According to my health, which I checked just before I healed myself, my HP, which sat normally at 105, had dropped to 87. Granted, that also meant purely by picking me up roughly, the gorilla had done almost a fifth of my life in damage. But, all things considered, with how much it hurt, I’d figured it would have been more.

Relief flooded into me as my bones mended and my arm popped back into place. Magic, really was, well, magic. Then again, we were no strangers to healing magic and its effects, having used it quite often in training to take care of any injuries and to ensure we could train long hours into the night some days. Still, the stark contrast from blinding pain to the warm tingle of magic, to no pain at all, was crazy.

“Well, that could have gone better.” Quill said as he easily dropped down from the tree he’d been firing from. He’d tied a rope to a branch high above that he used to quickly climb the tree, and in this case, descend. Quill had also secured himself, before the fight, with another rope, meant to ensure even if he was knocked from the tree, that he wouldn’t fall to the ground and risk injury or death.

“I’d say,” I rubbed my shoulder at the remembered pain as the rest of the party came to stand around the fallen gorilla. Shadow was sitting on the creature’s back, happily crunching into the piece of spine it had ripped free, savoring its prize. The sound, a mixture of cracks and squelches, was more than a little off putting.

“Still,” Quill pointed at the fallen gorilla, its eyes glassy, devoid of life, “for your first time taking on a Silverback, not bad at all. And honestly,” he picked up one of the massive hands, placing his own palm against it. The gorilla’s hand was so large it could easily completely engulf Quill’s, “this is one of the largest Silverback’s I’ve ever encountered.”

“Lucky us,” Nyle said, catching my eye. I saw the smirk in his eyes and knew full well he was referencing my bad luck.

Quill smiled at the comment, and then knelt down beside the gorilla and placed a hand on its head. He whispered a small prayer to the Tower, and then, the gorilla’s body disappeared, leaving nothing behind of the creature save for what Shadow was snacking on, and some blood and torn fur on the ground.

“A few notes,” Quill said as he stood, looking the group over, “before we set up and prepare for the next hunt though.”

First, he looked to Nyle and I. “Since you two were bait this time, we’ll have Lyn and Alax go after the next one.”

“Why?” Alax instantly interjected. “Why switch out? They drew the short sticks earlier.”

Quill’s gaze hardened as he looked at Alax. “Practice, for one.” Quill said calmly. “You’re all young and new to Climbing. While I obviously have my goals for this hunt as my main focus, it would also be unbecoming of me as the Hunt leader for our little group if I didn’t ensure you all got the most out of this experience as possible. I want everyone here to learn every part of this hunting process, so that you can carry the knowledge and experience forward for your next climb. As Hunters, we try to pass on this knowledge to Climbers, in order to not only help the Climbers, but also aid ourselves. The more you are used to the process, the more use you will be to us on other hunts.”

Alax huffed but didn’t add anything.

“And,” Quill’s focus was still on Alax, “don’t think I missed your actions during the last fight.”

Alax stiffened, his gaze hardening.

“You could have helped Ash during that fight.” Quill said softly. “Yet you stood by and did nothing. Why?”

“I wasn’t hired to protect Climbers.” Alax said coolly. “I’m here to help on the hunt, and to keep you safe. It seemed like Ash was in good hands already, and there didn’t seem to be any reason to risk myself as well.” He shrugged, “instead I figured I should stay back, and be ready for any additional surprises.”

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“Uh huh,” Quill shook his head and sighed. “I don’t know what your problem is with Ash,” he began, “and I’ve not the time or energy to focus on it. But would it kill you to work with him? A hunt goes much smother when everyone is working together.”

“It probably would,” Alax muttered under his breath. I couldn’t tell if Quill heard the comment, as the hunter just sighed and turned his focus away from Alax to Lyn.

“You’re pretty skilled with the bow,” Quill began, “and that’s a valuable asset, but normal precision shots won’t work against the gorilla with your current gear.” He motioned at her bow and arrows, both of which were the most basic of starting gear rented from Alexandra. “Did you bring any gorilla tranquilizer with you?”

Lyn’s face reddened slightly as she shook her head, her voice soft. “We couldn’t afford any.”

Quill sighed and shook his head. “Can’t be helped, I guess. In that case, focus on targeting the gorilla’s eyes, throat, and mouth. At the very least, that should put the creature on the defensive. As it stands, those are the only areas you’ll be able to cause major damage, even though hitting such targets is very difficult. Until your dexterity is higher or you have better gear, shots at the creature’s joints or body in general, won’t do more than annoy it.”

I thought back to the half a dozen arrows sticking out of the gorilla’s arm, courtesy of Lyn. They really had seemed little more than decorations to the gorilla.

“As for you,” Quill looked at Nyle, “you figured it out towards the end. The gorilla’s skin is thick, and its muscles are tough. Any time you pierce its skin, the creatures instinctively flex their muscles, further protecting it against attacks. Your rapier isn’t strong enough to cut through the thick muscle. Focus on the stomach, throat, eyes if you can manage it, or the tendons on the back of its ankles and knees. Those areas have less muscle, and if you can pierce them, they will quickly fail. Gorillas are powerful, and heavy, but that weight and size puts a lot of strain on its tendons and ligaments. Enough holes poked into them, and they tear apart.”

“Noted,” Nyle said with a nod.

“Otherwise, your use of fire was good.” Quill commented, “gorilla are hesitant of flames. If the spell is strong enough it can set their fur alite. Even at its lowest level, the fireball spell Climbers use can still damage the creature’s health a bit, and it forces them to focus on you. A good offensive skill, and distraction for battle.”

Nyle’s smile grew on his face at the praise, and further confirmation that his choice to pursue magic seemed a wise one.

“And that just leaves you, Ash.” Quill looked me over. The sleeves on my Climber’s Regalia were covered with blood and partially torn from the gorilla’s assault. I was also covered in mud, dirt, grime, and a smelly liquid from the gorilla’s stomach.

“I’m sure you already figured it out, but you don’t want to let a gorilla get ahold of you.” Quill’s tone was light as he spoke, a smile on his lips. I couldn’t help but grin back.

“Yeah, I kind of figured that one out.”

“Other than that,” Quill paused as his eyes darted down to my weapons. “Your daggers, unlike the weapons of your friends, are actually capable of piercing the creature’s flesh. You showed good intuition with your attack locations, but put yourself in a precarious situation by sliding forward and underneath it. Most of the Climbers I’ve hunted alongside who used daggers, fought in an extremely agile way. They constantly moved, dashing in for quick strikes, before backing off or running around the gorilla’s blindspots. They focused on swift attacks and even swifter movements, to not only ensure they were doing damage, but also to keep from letting the creature grab hold of them.”

It was my turn to blush. I knew that. Dagger fighting was something we’d been trained with. It wasn’t a style to stay stationary with. You were supposed to constantly move, constantly be ready to step in and attack, or step aside to dodge, bobbing and weaving around an opponent’s attacks, keeping them off balance and off guard while you whittled away at their defenses and life. Being told the proper style from a Hunter was more than a little embarrassing.

“I’ll make sure to keep that in mind for the next one.” I said, trying my best to push my shame back down. “I can promise you one thing though,” I forced a smile back on my face, trying to match Quill’s, “next time, I won’t let one of those things lay a finger on me.”

“If they do,” Quill quipped, “I recommend cutting the fingers off. Especially the thumb. A lot harder for them to grab hold of you after all, if they’ve no fingers to do so with.”

The way Quill said it, the ease, the humor, and yet, the certainty, made me wonder just how many times he, or more likely the Climber’s he’d been paired with, had done just that. I fought an instinctive shiver, pushed the thought from my mind, and prepared myself. One gorilla down, and hopefully, many more to come. Quill after all, did have a quota he wanted to meet. And I really wanted to help him reach that goal.