What the other contestants didn't understand was that the name given to the pebbles, Blood Red Pebbles, was actually quite literal and not a metaphor. It was named so because it actually contained blood, to some extent.

Seeing as he might probably be the only one who had solved the pebble problem, Jerome was elated. He raced through the forest, trying his best not to call attention to himself until he finally arrived at a small lake that was connected to the main river, beside it was Butcher's Block.

As the name implied, Butcher's Block was an area filled with butchers that cut up all kinds of meat before it was then carried to the village market to be sold. Most of the animals that were cut up were usually killed on the grounds around the lake. So when rain fell, the blood of the animals were then flushed into the lake which then coated the surrounding rocks in a red sheen.

He had been there a couple times with his father on their way to the sanctuary and the process had been going on for as long as he could remember. Very few people were allowed to step foot in Butcher's Block as it was also regarded a sacred ground considering the amount of animals that were being killed there.

Jerome looked around and just as he suspected, there was no one else there, he was the only one who knew the secret of the Blood Red Pebbles.

He walked up to the lake, bent down, dipped his hand into the lake and randomly picked a rock and pulled it out. It was pure red. He pulled out another, and another and another, until he had five. Then he put it into his leather bag and got up. He thought about picking some for the woman, so he went ahead and picked 5 more then headed out.

He found her within the forest, this time, rummaging through a clover field. He walked up to her and tapped her on her shoulder.

"Excuse me", he said.

She looked up, "If it isn't Mr. Wrong ticket", She stretched her back.

He didn't know what to say, so he just brought out the Blood Red Pebbles and showed them to her. "Here, I found more than I needed so I thought I'd let you have the rest."

She was shocked. She quickly grabbed the pebbles and stared at them closely. "How did you find them? Where did you find them?" She asked.

Regardless of how understanding the woman might have been earlier, Jerome kept it at the back of his mind that she was still very much a stranger and so he didn't trust her very much, so he lied. "By the river bank."

"What? That's impossible, I searched there for a long time and I couldn't even find one, talk less of 10."

She didn't believe him, but Jerome wasn't going to tell her, "I guess I was just lucky", he said and smiled awkwardly.

"Hmm", she grunted. "Thank you."

"You're welcome", he replied, slowly turned and walked away.

"Aren't you going to search for a four leaf clover?"

"Uh, yeah, I forgot. Thank you", he said. He truly forgot.

Rumor had it that the winners of the Hunt Sprint were determined by the gods. Each item were given a superstitious meaning, wether it was true or not, nobody knew.

The Blood Red Pebbles tested the Hunters intelligence and understanding to see beyond something that seemed normal.

The Head of a Queen Fire ant tested their endurance as an overall being, as finding the Queen Fire ant in an ant hill meant being stung by hundreds if not thousands of soldier ants.

A wild boar to test their physical strength and brawn.

A spike from a baby porcupette to test their patience and observation skills.

And a four leaf clover to well, test their luck.

So far, Jerome was doing pretty well. There was still about 3 hours before the sun set and he had found a four leaf clover on his first try, the spike of a porcupette, the head of a Queen Fire Ant and was getting ready to tackle a wild boar while pulling out spikes and ants from his body. He and the lady had been working together, her name was Tola.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

She was a labourer in the village. She did literally any work she could get her hands on, and because of that, she had a slightly masculine statue. Although she was really beautiful. Jerome felt quite intimidated by her as she was also taller than him.

She had participated in the Hunt's Sprint for 7 consecutive years and had lost each time. She even stated that she had planned to stop trying and quit entirely on everything, life included. Being born an orphan she had been working for as long as she could remember, not once having an easy life, but the Hunt Sprint was her only way out of that mess.

Jerome couldn't fathom what it was like having to work for every single thing that he owned. It seemed almost impossible, yet this lady stood before him, a living testament that it was more than possible. So he tried supporting her as much as he could. He raised her mood when she felt down, hyped her when she felt like giving up. He so badly wanted to see her accomplish her dream.

And so he stood behind her as all these thoughts rushed through his mind, his knees bent and his legs firmly planted on the ground. They had tricked a few wild boars into passing a predetermined route while they stood there waiting to tackle some once they came running by. Tola was the one doing the catching, Jerome was the backup.

He suggested they set a trap for them but Tola had refused, experience had made it clear to her that the condition the boar has to be in was never specified, which meant they could end up hurting it in the process of trapping it only for the Elders to turn it down because of that one reason, so she felt it was better to catch them alive and unharmed.

The Boars came along minutes later, Tola grabbed a hold of one and slammed it into the ground, immediately incapacitating it. Jerome on the other hand, dove at another Boar and held tightly unto it despite its tusks that were piercing deep into his thighs, but he couldn't incapacitate it. Tola rushed over and tied it with a chain once she had tied hers.

Once they were done, they both sat under a tree and started laughing. At long last, they had found all the items.

"We should probably rush over and submit the items to the Elders before someone else does." Jerome suggested.

"Yeah, you're right", Tola agreed and got up, "But there can only be one winner."

Jerome looked at her and smiled, "Don't worry about it, I was never aiming for the top position in the first place, I just wanted to do whatever I could to leave this place."

He was about getting up when a group of Hunters came out of the surrounding bushes and ambushed them. They placed a bag over Jerome's head and punched him repeatedly till his legs grew weak.

He bruised his knee as he fell to the ground and was then forced to kneel with his back erect.

The bag was taken off soon after and Tola was nowhere to be found. In place of her, there was a tall man standing in front of him. He didn't look happy.

"Hello there", the man said.

His voice sounded incredibly familiar but he couldn't remember where he might've heard it, at least not until the man leaned in close to him and grabbed his hair.

"Do you know me?" The man asked, looking Jerome straight in the eyes.

Jerome instantly recognized him. "You're the one that accidentally gave me the wrong ticket."

"Well you're correct, and incorrect." He let go off Jerome's hair. "Yes, I did give you the wrong ticket but it was in no way accidental." He leaned in closer, "This is payback."

"What? What do you mean? I did nothing to you", Jerome protested angrily. "I don't even know who you are!"

"Then let me introduce myself." He stood erect, "My name is Hopas, Doosflop Hopas."

"You, it's you." Jerome said shakily, "Why are you doing this? What did I do to you?"

"All these years I've had Ravea all to myself. No one in this entire village dared to go anywhere near her because she was mine. And then you came along. How you managed to woo her in such a short time and under such ridiculous circumstances is an absolute mystery to me", Hopas grabbed Jerome's shirt, "But today, I'll teach you not to take what doesn't belong to you."

At that point, Jerome knew he was in trouble. He instinctively wanted to apologize but it was probably too late for that, Hopas' eyes, the tone behind his voice; calm yet incredibly hoarse, the bulging veins on his temple, his ever clenched fist that was now piercing his palms. There was no going back, he was out for blood.

The first punch to his abdomen broke two ribs. The second, to his face, dislocated his jaw. The third sent a tooth flying.

Hopas massaged his hand gently, it was broken but he wasn't satisfied. His blood was still boiling.

"For so long I've waited for this moment, I've dreamt of it, hallucinated of it. Now it's here, I'm not going to let it end so quickly." He picked up a spear, stared at the tip then broke it off, leaving him with just a long hard stick.

He held the edge, leaned backwards then swung his hand forward at full speed. It connected perfectly with Jerome's stomach.

"You nobles think you're at the top of the world." He swung again, "You think because the gods ordained you worthy you are above everyone else." He swung again, even harder. "You think you can do whatever you want to whoever you want without facing the consequences!" The connection this time made Jerome cough up blood. "Well too bad! I'll make you pay for taking Ravea away from me." He looked behind Jerome, and asked, "Did he tell you where he found the Blood Red Pebbles?"

"No", Tola replied.

"Tola?!" Jerome moaned, "Why?"

"We all have our grudges against the nobles. Mine, particularly against Peter Jon." She said.

"But I'm not Peter Jon!" He replied angrily.

"But he's your friend isn't he?"

Jerome didn't answer. There was nothing he could do, he was outnumbered ten to one and was in the middle of the forest, fighting would be futile as running away afterwards would be incredibly difficult.

"Are they going to kill me?" Was the only thought that haunted him amidst his increasingly fading consciousness.