Jerome locked himself in his room once he got back home. There were visitors in the living room but he didn't feel like entertaining anyone.

A few hours later they left. He came out and entered the kitchen to look for something to eat but there was nothing. The visitors had apparently asked for extras. His mother apologized and gave him some money to get something to eat outside while she and the helps prepared dinner. That lightened his mood. Although he didn't feel like going out, it was the festival period, and the festival hosted a variety of foods and cuisines that he wasn't able to have on a normal basis. It was the only thing he looked forward to whenever the festival drew near, that and the Hunt Sprint.

The Hunt Sprint was a race performed by the best hunters, warriors and literally anyone who was brave enough to enroll, where they were given a list of animals and items to obtain and bring back to the Elders.

The winner got to keep the game of the other contestants as well as a pouch of 100 gold coins.

The Hunt Sprint was basically a shortcut to fame and wealth. Anyone and everyone who had ever won the race was respected almost as an equal to a noble. But all these benefits came with a huge price as the contestants usually fought to the death when trying to steal or protect rare items that were to be acquired as part of the Hunt. Most times, the Hunt demanded for a fellow contestant to be hunted as part of the rare items.

The Hunt usually started at High noon and ended a few minutes before sunset. Giving the contestants a little over 6 hours to gather the items.

It was almost high noon, Jerome rushed to the village square to get a ticket for the Hunt Sprint before it got sold out. People stared at him and murmured. It was then that he realized that this was his first major public appearance since he was convicted for rape. Apparently the memories were still fresh in the minds of the villagers; it's not often you see a noble being punished like a wild dog.

It was hard to ignore at first but their stares soon became akin to the breeze that blew over him.

When he got to the ticket stand, there was a long line. Usually as a kid, whenever he came to see the Hunt Sprint with his parents they usually got special treatment, a few chats here and there and they were in, front row. But this time he was alone, so he stood and stood and stood, but the line was incredibly slow.

Luckily, it got to his turn soon.

"One ticket please, front row seat", he said and placed his money on the table. But the vendor looked at him then shoved his money back towards him.

"Front seats are all taken", he replied.

"Oh, then I'll take whatever seat you have", Jerome said. It was easy to compromise.

The vendor clicked his tongue, "Even if we had front row tickets, we don't sell to rapists."

Jerome was dumbfounded, he knew there was still a lingering animosity within the hearts of the people towards him but he didn't expect such a vivid show of hostility. He tried pleading but the vendor wouldn't budge and soon the people behind him lost their patience and began to complain, so he left the line. As he walked away from the line with his head hung low, a young man came up to him, held him by the shoulder and said, "Don't worry I'll get the ticket for you."

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Jerome looked up at him. He couldn't see the man's face clearly due to the paint designs on his face, but he looked familiar. "Here", Jerome said, handing some money to the stranger.

"No, don't worry, it's my treat", The stranger replied then strolled off towards the line.

A couple minutes later, the stranger came back and handed the ticket to him. "This is yours", he said with a big grin on his face. "Don't mind them."

Jude was ecstatic, "Thank you so much!" He shook the man's hand relentlessly.

"It's alright, just go over to the other stand, turn in your ticket and head in", the man said, pointing at a small shack a ways away from them.

Jude didn't think much about, "Thank you", he said again. "I'm Jerome Dernewt, Son of the Elder Harvey Dernewt", He introduced himself and stuck his hand out again for a more civilized handshake.

"My name is irrelevant", The man said. "But don't worry, I doubt you'll forget me anytime soon." He touched his face, "I have a rather unique looking face if I may say so myself."

"Alright, thank you again", Jerome said then hurried towards the shack.

He turned in his ticket and was then directed to an entrance. It lead into somewhere like a hall. The hall was filled with about 40 people, men and women alike, none of whom were smiling.

He soon noticed that there were no chairs, just long tables abundant with a ridiculous amount of weapons and hunting tools. Chains, Maces, Swords, Spears, Axes, Sledge hammers, Bow and Arrows, Steel traps, Iron nets, Cages, Leather bags etc.

He was confused.

He walked up to a friendly looking face and showed her his ticket, "Pardon me, please where's the audience stand?"

The friendly face, a woman, was confused. "That's the contestant ticket, not the audience ticket."

Jerome scratched his head, "Meaning?"

The friendly face was becoming impatient, "Meaning that you're a contestant." She took a deep breath, "First timers are always like this, just take a deep breath whenever you feel overwhelmed, keep it together, okay? Anyways, welcome to the Hunt Sprint, goodluck out there." She said then walked away.

He chased after her, "No no no that can't be right, I want to watch the Hunt, not participate in it."

"Ay, you bought the wrong ticket? Tsk tsk tsk, just take this as a more immersive experience." She felt pity for him.

"What? No, I don't want an immersive experience, isn't there some way to quit the Hunt early." He held her hand; he was becoming agitated.

She looked at him, then at his hand. He noticed then let go off her. "No, there isn't." She said and walked off. He didn't chase after her this time.

Minutes later, the Hunt started and the contestants took their positions at the bank of the river that flowed through the village. On the other side was the forest. A list of items were called out to them by an Elder supervising the event. Jerome looked to see if his father was among them, but he wasn't.

"A Wild Boar, the head of a Queen fire ant, a spike from a Porcupette, 5 blood red pebbles and a four leaf clover." The items were as ridiculous as ever.

On the count of three, the hunters ran towards the river, across it and into the forest. Jerome ran aimlessly in the middle of the hunters and eventually fell while crossing the river. He took a deep gulp before getting back up. He stood there and stared into the forest. He was utterly and completely confused. He didn't know where to start from. Just then, he saw the woman he had seen earlier squatting down beside the water. She used a knife to fetch a pile of sand from the river and poured it into a leather bag, then she took it to the bank of the river and rummaged through it with her finger.

"Huh?" He thought to himself, wondering what the woman could be looking for. Then he remembered an item, Blood Red Pebbles. Immediately, he realized that she wasn't going to find any red pebbles in the river, at least ones red enough to be labeled Blood Red Pebbles because he knew exactly where to find them, so he got up and ran into the forest.