Hearing what sounded like metal being dragged I slowly reached for one of the wood spears I hand made earlier. Looking through a crack in the makeshift wall of my shelter I saw something that sent a chill down my spine. A large black furred mountain lion just stepped across the river towards my side. The faint moon light only allowed me to see faint details. But what stood out the most to me, was the dead human, seen carried in it’s maw. The dead man's head hung down from the neck, and the arms swung about lifeless like a rag doll. The eyes rolled back in the head as its legs were dragged along the ground. I noticed bits and pieces of the armor had been ripped off along with chunks of the dead human.
My eyes never left the creature as I watched it walk up the side of the river bed and towards the woods. It seemed to focus on the food it had in its jaws to notice me. When my glasses bumped against the wooden wall of my shelter a screen appeared. Similar to what Elva showed me with her own records.
{ Race ~ Inferum Cattus }
{ Age ~ 54 }
{ Species ~ Infernal Beast }
My eyes darted back to the hellcat curious if it saw me. But it had disappeared into the forest. I quickly turned my attention to the screen and swiped right, wanting to see if there was anything else. What I saw made me stay up the rest of the night.
{ Inferum Cattus ~ Level ~ 10 }
If levels were anything to go off of it means that monster is way stronger than both of my current levels put together. I silently stayed up that night. I had let the coals burn themselves out so that the fire or smoke didn't attract any attention. Luckily the coals were already dim when that monster passed. I think the only sleep I got was the two or three hours right before the sun rose up. At which time I quickly packed up what was in my camp and began heading to the town. Along the way I came across some markings that sat low on some of the trees. They looked like something was chewing on them. If I managed to get an animal and bring it into town I could sell it. Maybe get a few more coins and possibly rent a room. Given that getting a new set of common worker clothes is almost half of my current funds; I needed to put more coins in my pocket.
I decided to follow the tracks of the animal in question. My best guess was some kind of beaver or something since it seemed to eat the bark of the trees. I also noted that it avoided fruit trees; perhaps because the wood underneath the bark was poisonous to them? After a bit of tracking I managed to find the animal in question; it did look like a beaver though it seemed to have a much longer body. It coiled its body around the tree almost like a snake. What surprised me most were the claws it used to dig into the tree. And the way it bit into the bark of the tree only to twist it’s head and rip the first layer of bark off.
Either way I don't want that thing getting wrapped around me. It’d tear a chunk out of me no problem; seeing the way the animal was built with the long body like a ferrate my best guess is this animal would run away at first sign of trouble. Though I did have one idea that might work for hunting it. If I could get it stuck to the tree it’s currently wrapped around I might be able to kill it. I took out the sword and grabbed one of the wooden spears I had made. I approached as quietly as possible; I took the spear in hand and once I was close enough I jumped forward, stabbing the sword through the animal and embedding the blade into the tree.
Of course the ferrate didn't go down without a fight. I managed to pin it’s lower body to the tree. But it still swung itself back and dug its claws into my leg. I managed to block it’s teeth with my wooden spear. But the claws dug in so deep it made me fall back. The monster quickly struggled and managed to pull the sword out of the tree. But the sword was still stuck in its body; which allowed me to pin it again and smack it over the head with the shaft of the spear. It took a few whacks from the spear which eventually broke before the damn thing died. Luckily it didn't hit anything major otherwise I would be bleeding to death at this point. Though whether or not I got magic rabies now is left for the future me to figure out.
To make sure the thing was dead I cut it’s major artery around the neck. I swear they make hunting in anime, and light novels sound so fucking easy. I don't know what’s up with this system but one thing for sure isn't helping me out. With the dead animal and after checking to see if I can still walk I made my way to town. I left the broken spear because it had served its purpose. When I looked I noticed the animal trails had led me towards the back end of the town. I stuck to the tree line as I walked around towards the gate house. I stopped a little bit and leaned against a tree. I think this little beast did more damage than I first thought. The leg that had its claws in it was aching like crazy. When I pulled up the pants legs and looked I could still see fresh blood. Haven't even had these clothes for that long and I've already got them blood stained. I swear my bad luck from my original world followed me. I set my sword and shield down along with the dead animal. Before I reached over and took hold of my leg, the main thing I focused on at this point was trying to slow my heart beat to at least try and slow down the blood.
As I calmed myself I soon began to notice a warm feeling that at first started at my knee. But then I slowly moved down my leg and into my toes. Which reminds me that I still need to find shoes… Maybe that’s the reason why the beast’s claws dug into my leg the way they did. I looked back at my leg and noticed something at first made me freak out a little. The main veins of my legs could be seen giving off a bright glow. The glow was bright as I noticed it seemed to move up and down my leg in pulses. It wasn't long after that the glowing began that I noticed the blood dripping from my leg began to stop. Soon the one notable mark on my legs had simply turned into scars. Well from this I can assume I have magic… and there is such a thing as magic.
{ Healing Touch ~ 2 = 1 }
Looking at the screen that appeared on my glasses; I guess this means the spell I used just now is called Healing Touch. And I only have once more to use it. I definitely need to do some info gathering; though from what I remember of the town, and surroundings there aren't that many magic users. Hell it seemed like there were none, but then again it might be that magic itself is banned or illegal or has a bad reputation. But in that sense it might also be highly coveted and hardly seen at least in areas like this. With my leg healed I stood up again; and luckily the aching pain was gone. When I went into town it took me a while to find a place to sell this monster. When asked I was pointed towards one building that had a posting board on the outside. Seemed like they listed off local wildlife that needed to be thinned out or were highest in demand.
Walking in I noticed the reception area was outside. Guess the inside is where they process the animal and want to keep it away from critters. I stood in front of the reception desk for a bit before a man finally approached me. From behind the desk he stood a few inches shorter than me. I gave a smile and extended my hand to shake him out of instinct. Luckily the rules of greeting were the same and he took my hand and shook it. He had a long bird with a few fresh stains in it that I’m going to imagine are from fruit and not blood.
“What can I do for you lad?” He asked as he leaned against the desk that separated us.
I brought the beast I caught up and laid it across the desk.
“Just looking to see how much coin I can get for this little ankle biter.”
I watched as the man who I assumed to be a butcher began inspecting the animal. He shot me a look a few times before setting it down. He then asked me a question which kind of surprised me.
“Lad… how did you catch this?” The way he asked made him seem suspicious of me.
From his reaction I guess I did something strange. Maybe this animal was highly valued; or it might be something like this type of monster is a local nuisance like a rat and hard to get rid of. I decided to tell myself a partial truth since I wanted to keep at least one ace up my sleeve.
“Came across it while it was pinned under a tree. Guess I was lucky.” I said as I looked him straight in the eyes.
He was a butcher so depending how good he was. He might be able to tell from the wounds on the animal body if I’m lying or not. I watched as he looked at the body again before turning back to me.
“Lad… I can see you're new to town… so I’m going to let that lie slide. Now be honest.” He finished his sentence with a hard glare; guess I didn't roll high enough to fool him.
“I used my sword to pin the thing to the tree it was eating and then proceeded to kill it. It got a few good ones on my leg. Not a clean kill but best I could manage with what I have.” I told him the truth and hopefully not getting him more mad.
He examined the body again before looking back at me.
“Three silver… that’s what I can offer… I normally offer four… but I took one off because you lied to me.” He said staring at me like a stern parent catching their kid in the middle of a lie.
I let out a sigh having learned from this lesson. I shrugged my shoulders with a smirk.
“Can't blame a guy for trying… After all, who says others won't copy me once they figure out my methods.” I said trying to defend myself the best I could.
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“True… I don't blame ya for lying… After all, we all have our secrets we want to keep. Just don't lie to me… I almost thought you stole this from another hunter.” He said as he took the beast and walked into the back.
He returned a few minutes later with a small sack and dumbed the coins on the counter for me to see. I noticed three silver as he promised; I took the coins and put them in the sack I got from Elva originally.
“You find any more of those Herba come to me, I'll give you a good price.” He said with a smile this time.
“Next time I won't lie to ya… oh… Where can I find a good weapons shop? I need to do some maintenance on my sword.” I asked curiously as I know if I don't clean my sword it’ll rust badly.
The butcher ended up pointing me across the street. The store across the street was a general goods store. Mostly selling things that were in high demand for the area. Farming tools, hunting bows and arrows, along with a few knives. I purchased some oil and a piece of cloth that cost me two copper. I slowly began learning about this world’s or at least the town's currency. Apparently five copper pieces equal one silver coin; that’s all I can figure out at the current moment. Which means the three silver I have should last me a good while. But still I’ll need to start saving sense. I know a good source of income for the time being.
Luckily I also purchased a knife from the general goods store. It was similar to a Saxon knife back in my world. Where it had a straight blade and the tip moved down towards the edge. It seemed to be the most common type of knife for this area since he had five of them on display. With the gear cleaned and a new knife I went back out hunting. I still had some daylight left so if I can put some more coins in my pocket and food in my belly what’s stopping me? Maybe if I could catch some more of those furry snakes then I can earn a bit more. This time I had a better plan on how to catch those things. I took one of the two remaining wooden spears I had and cut the top. To put simply I made a four pronged harpoon I learned to make back when my grandpa was teaching me survival. If I can use this to catch the upper body then I can simply go for the head and kill it quickly. And hopefully not getting nicked in the leg bay it’s claws. I went out of the town and around the exterior wall towards where I emerged from the forest last time.
My best chance of catching one of those things again is to try and search for the same bite marks as I did before. When I turn around a bend, you can imagine my surprise when I see one of those ankle biters chewing on one of the wooden vertical support beals of the exterior wall. It wasn't wrapped around the beam like the past one and the tree. I was a bit of a distance away; so I slowly set down my shield and got my spear ready. I also held the knife close; when I was close enough I quickly thrusted the fishing spear I made and managed to pin the creature's upper body to the wooden beam. It let out cries and hisses along with growls as it struggled to break free. I slowly worked my way down the spear making sure to keep the pressure.
Once I was close enough I took the knife and cut the animal’s throat. It struggled for a few more minutes before it finally died. I guess these things are valuable, and a pest to the town. Looking at the damage I can see it was almost half way through the vertical support. If it had eaten all the way through it would have made this part of the wall collapse. I guess I should report this to the local guards so they can try and fix it. When I returned to the main entrance they were a little surprised by the catch. I guess these things have been terrorizing the locals because they eat through wood like termites. Some of the guards even asked if I could sell them the spear I had made. I ended up making a deal with them that I would simply make them their own.
As I was making the fishing spears I talked with a few of them. Turns out most of them come from hunting backgrounds and aren't actually trained guards. It explains a few things; but also raises a few questions for me as well. I decided not to pry too much into it. I did manage to hear about a large hunting party that’ll be taking place tomorrow. Apparently the local lord is requesting the meat of Aries Porcus which is considered a delicacy to the upper class. Though from the way the hunters were talking about it; it seemed like a pain to hunt and kill. I managed to talk them into letting me join them; And once the fishing spears were done they paid my three copper per spear I made. I also showed them the method of making it. After all I didn't invent this; our primal ancestors did so I can't really claim ownership of the invention.
The day of the hunting trip I met up with the hunting party at the main gate. They were talking among themselves mainly about how to kill the thing. Apparently they are easy to find because of their large size and bright yellow coloring. They also have horns which point directly out, almost similar to bulls horns just with more apparent curves. At least from the way they describe the monster; though until I see it in person I can't make any calls. Though one thing did come to mind that I presented to the group.
“What if instead of trying to chase the thing down… we make it chase us?” I proposed out loud which seemed to catch all the hunters' attention.
“What are you talking about, boy?” One of the older hunters asked.
“From the way you guys are talking about this thing I’m guessing this thing will charge at anything it sees as a threat… which makes it hard to catch. Most people can't move and shoot arrows at the same time without special training.” I said giving my observations based on the way they described this thing.
The hunters all seemed to nod to each other which confirmed my thoughts.
“So what if we slow it down long enough for others to rush in and attack it from the sides?” I stated which seems to earn a surprise murmur among them.
“And how exactly do you intend to do that?” Asked a female hunter as she sat on a crate and looked at me.
“Well given from how strong you described the thing. A net wouldn't work and it’s not like we can carry a wall with us during our hunting trip… So what if you guys let it hit me and my shield?” I asked the last part which seemed to earn a shocked expression from the rest of the hunting group.
I also seemed to have gotten a laugh from the hunting girl for my plan.
“You got a death wish?! I’ve seen those things mow down three men who were better than you.” One of the other hunters called out.
I simply shrugged my shoulders and looked out to the group with a blank expression. The reaction seemed to surprise them.
“Hey look at it this way… if this plan works then you all get equal coins from the lord. And if it doesn't then one man who you don't know is out of your hair and you can blame it all on his stupid plan. Or are you all so afraid of failing that you're not even willing to take the risk?” I finished my statement curious as I noticed a lot of them flinched at my question and slight insult.
One of the few things I learned from my old world is that people put way too much stock into other people's words. I expected a bit more of an up roar from my words. I guess society in this world is different from my own. The girl who sat on the crate before leaps off which seemed to draw everyone’s attention. From her outfit and gear she was one of the more notable hunters of this town. She walked up to me; even though she was a few inches shorter than me I could feel her try to pressure me a little.
“Alright boy… I’ll listen to your plan… but if this fails then I’ll dance on your grave.” The amount of killing intent she’s letting out was potent.
Though compared to when grandpa was teaching me how to fight it doesn't affect me. I simply lowered my head down and looked her straight in the eyes.
“And if this plan does work then I’ll be taking your share of the reward.” I said before walking off; after all if I kept talking to her like that chances are we would end up in a fight.
And until I know this world I’d like to avoid fighting. The hunting party that ended up wanting to take part in my plan was about five people in total including me. The female huntress from earlier, a young boy and girl who seemed to be new to this… and one of the older men from earlier. Thanks to the two experienced hunters we figured out the location of the monster in question. Apparently there's a lake about a few miles towards the south east where the horned pigs like to eat.
Took us a bit but we managed to find a lone male. Gotta say those things are bigger than I expected. The fully groan ones are about the size where a human could ride them if they wanted to. And the horse more resembled demon horns than bulls. They wrapped up the back of the head and then quickly curved out towards the nose.
“After I get that thing to stop moving, thrust up under it’s legs into its belly…” I whispered to the group before they spread out.
I think my best guess is to try and aggravate this thing and get it to charge me. In my old world pigs were omnivorous, meaning they could eat meat too. And if that’s the same thing here then that monster will just be like that hellcat I saw a few nights ago. I stepped a few feet in front of the group into sight of the monster. I then raised my shield up and banged the sword against the edge of the shield. I kept my eyes on the monster as it let out a deep almost monster squeal.
I have to say… I don't know if there's something in the system of this world. Or maybe I’m just unlucky enough. But when that monster charged at me the horns went right through the shield. One of the horns nicked my arm. I still kept up on my feet as it pushed me back. I managed to stop it’s charging power a little bit when I stabbed into its shoulder with my sword. But that also seemed to piss it off more while it and I were stuck together. We went back a bit further than planned but the monster slowed down just enough for everyone. The others got their chances and stabbed at the beast. It let out that deep loud squeal again as it thrashed it’s head about. I could feel the strength on my arm as I tried to keep it steady and from being ripped off.
There goes my shield; but luckily my sword was still embedded in its shoulder. I managed to take hold of it and push the blade in deeper. The arm the monster’s horn got was hurting like hell at this point. I think the nick was deeper than suspected; mostly because of the blood flowing from my arm. When I say it nicked my arm I guess to be more on point, the sharpened horn left a thumb sized gash in my forearm. I lost track of how long that monster struggled for before it finally stopped. I kept the pressure on my sword even when I knew the monster had stopped. Mostly because after being slammed and pushed back a few good feet. And working with a busted arm I don't know if I could stand on my own.
I guess the adrenaline rush allowed me to ignore the feeling of the horn and the force that drove my stomach into my ribs. When I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked back to see it was the old man hunter. I suddenly felt relaxed and fell to the ground. I didn't care if the monster’s blood stained my clothes or the mud on the ground. For this moment I could relax a bit and not worry about my own life.