Extract from the -{ Tome of the ‘Forgotten One’ }- Divine scripture of the Church of the ‘Forgotten One’.
"In the labyrinth of illusions, where shadows dance with deceit, the false light casts its web, ensnaring souls in a maze of half-truths and empty promises." (The False Light 2:2)
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The two worked on butchering the beast the hunter had hunted in silence. Occasionally Asher would pause and observe the hunter’s movements, each of these was precise and practiced, and every cut was clean without fault.
The hunter now started separating the meat. Since Asher was also done with the abdomen, the hunter first targeted the stomach. He cut a vertical slit again, this one deeper, enough to open up the cavity. Next, he took out the organs and placed them in a tub by the side. The hunter took a small yellow crystal out of the cavity as well as he held it near Asher, blood and grime still attached to it.
"This here is a beast spirit crystal formed when a beast dies. The pneuma in its body condenses to form this upon death. The crystal takes on the elemental form the beast specializes in, this one is highly beneficial to a cultivator that uses earth element techniques. Only stronger beasts form these."
Done with that, he used his knife to completely separate the neck of the beast, placing it aside. All the blood was already drained. The hunter then started working on the limbs. He used his knife to separate the joints from the body. The calm expression on his face and the ease with which he did all this once again sent a chill running down Asher’s spine. Asher was glad that the hunter was talking to him otherwise he didn’t know what he would have done.
“When dealing with a problem take in the information and form a solution instead of being overwhelmed with dread. Always look forward, and never stop improving, learning, or understanding. Comfort causes people to become lax and complacent with where they are, and lastly, working with a weak plan is better than no plan at all."
The hunter was now done with his side completely. Asher had also skinned his side by now. He passed the cloth he used to clean his blade to Asher.
“You might be confused with all this haphazard stuff I’m saying, but it’s just all the random bits of knowledge I had learned throughout my journey, stuff that had proven itself useful to me on many occasions. One final thing I would say to you would be to trust no one, the path to power in myriad realms is the most treacherous path in existence. I have seen brothers shed each other’s blood just to advance a realm ahead, mothers sacrifice their babies, fathers their daughters, and so on. Honesty and loyalty are some of the rarest things to be found in myriad realms, in my opinion, it’s more probable for you to get a creation system quest than it is to find a loyal and honest person.”
The hunter took out a new cloth to clean his hands as he looked at Asher with a slight smile as if he had told a joke, the words he spoke made Asher uncomfortable about the future that lay ahead for him.
“Complete the rest and place it all inside. The shed is covered with a preservation seal so the meat will not spoil.”
The hunter then left just like that.
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The next day.
Asher stifled a yawn as he made his way out of the house. Last night he was up late due to being left with the cleaning duties. He also had to delay his dinner and ate a cold meal.
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Today was the day the hunter had said he would take Asher with him on a hunt so he wondered how that would work out. Today the huntress was also up early which was a bit unusual.
“Today the training will be light as you have to accompany me so hurry up.”
Following the Hunter’s words Asher’s training started, he repeated yesterday's lessons like always first, next was a light spar with the hunter and the huntress. They ended the training session while the sun hung high up in the sky.
Finally, it was time to leave for the hunt.
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'The rain is not stopping'
Looking at the dark sky Asher dragged his body back inside the cave. Blood continued to flow unceasingly from the wounds on his arms and legs. Even the handcrafted bandage he made using his shirt was soaked in rainwater and blood. Asher leaned against the cave wall as he stared out at the opening of the cave, by now his hope to be saved had been lost but that doesn't mean he'll just roll over and die.
A flame burned in him at any thought of dying it would tell him constantly 'Not yet, not at this place'.
That flame in his heart was what got him through all that happened and eventually reached this cave. Once more it was burning vigorously whispering to Asher to survive this even if he had to rip the hearts out of every single beast on this whole damn planet.
[ Application ‘Immortal’ Is running ]
[ Your wrath and defiance have shaped bloodlust inside you ]
[ Condition for skill creation fulfilled ]
[ A skill is being created ]
[ Skill ‘Bloodlust lv.1’( Passive ) obtained ]
Asher only gave a glance to the system as he moved deeper into the cave towards the carcass of the huge beast. Taking out the knife the hunter gave him he started skinning the animal and butchering it to provide himself with meat. As he continued to split the corpse in an orderly manner his thought wandered off to how he even got to this perdictment.
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Asher followed the hunter through the forest. Trekking and running after the hunter as he observed his surroundings to the fullest. It was nice to do something different for once other than the gruesome sparing and bone-breaking exercise.
Throughout the way, the hunter told Asher little tidbits of information about the dos and don'ts of the forest and its ecosystem. One of the biggest was to always remain attentive and keep an ear out. If it ever gets too silent around him then that means a potentially dangerous beast is lurking nearby.
They stopped at one point to observe a couple of beasts fighting it out from the shadows. Their strength and prowess were terrifying, some could use magical skills with elements while others had skins and bones as tough as steel as they crushed rocks and trees that got in their way.
Asher inquired the hunter as to how would he potentially hunt such beasts. The hunter just looked Asher in the eyes as he told him in all seriousness that if he ever encountered an ‘awakened’ beast he should run and hope to survive if he has not entered the first realm of cultivation.
The awakened beast in this case was a beast that had awakened its ability to use pneuma.
“The wild beasts are classified with a tier system rather than with realms like those used by the humanoid beings. A Tier 1 beast is equivalent to a cultivator in the first realm, with the prefixes beginner, intermediate, and peak used to signify its strength within that tier. In the surrounding forest, the strongest beast was a peak tier 2. It is the beast that we are looking to hunt today.”
Asher gulped visibly as he prepared himself. Trying his best to not mess up or make too much noise with his movements. The hunter’s confidence signified that he was stronger than a peak tier 2 beast which meant the hunter was at least in the third realm of cultivation. Asher speculated as he followed the hunter’s back diligently.
“The beast we are hunting is a ‘Firemane Liger’ a peak tier two beast.”
The hunter then described the beast’s appearance, listening to the description Asher felt his palms holding the knife become sweaty his heart started beating with a vicious rhythm his body felt stiffer.
Soon they found the beast they were looking for it was as huge as an elephant, and it was by far the largest he had encountered during his journey with the hunter also being the one that felt the most powerful among them. The surrounding air of the beast seemed oddly dense and hazy as if enshrouding the figure nearly making it harder to make out what was inside. It looked like an oversized lion, the mane of which seemed to be replaced with fire. It had reptile-like scales on its limbs and its sharp lava-red claws were digging into the rock as it slept soundly on it.
The hunter slowly stood up from the cover of the bush they were hiding in as he slowly readied his bow. The bow looked like it was made out of normal grey wood, however, it was anything but normal as once the hunter nocked an arrow that seemed to be made of crystal ice, the curved bow glowed up in a blue hue expanding a bit as if breathing. The mysterious patterns covering its surface started glowing ice blue. It seemed as if a gray dragon was about to release its chilling ghastly blue breath when the hunter took the final pause to take his aim.
The beast woke up when it perceived the threat to its life however it was already too late for it to run away. It roared with raging bloodlust making Asher's knee buckle from fear and pressure. The hunter unphrased released the arrow.
The world turned white for Asher then there was a splash of blue. A blue line extended from the hunter to the beast. In a flash, the beast was defeated just like that.