Capítulo 4: The Hunter Prodigy
Very important :
***Before we begin, I want to clarify something: it seems that some people haven't understood that this fanfiction is entirely my own work. The ideas are mine, and it's not a translation of another piece. When I mentioned translating, I was referring to translating my own texts from French to English, as I am French and don't speak English fluently***
**Previously**
— "You've still got a lot to learn if you want to survive in this world, Max. And I think you're about to dive even deeper." His voice, tinged with a certain gravity, left little room for optimism.
He let the silence linger for a moment before glancing at Max, a faintly amused glint in his eyes, despite the situation.
— "Welcome to hell on Earth, kid."
Chapter 4 : The Hunter Prodigy
Silence had settled between Bobby and Max for the rest of the drive, only broken by the hum of the engine. Max watched the road pass by, his thoughts clashing in his mind. He was now fully aware that he had entered a world where the supernatural wasn't just a story on TV, but a brutal reality. A world where survival required more than just quick reflexes.
Ding! Master Hunter skill download complete. Max had started the download as soon as he got into the car. He had chosen that skill along with Demonology Expert, which was still downloading. It had about a minute left. In the meantime, he added Tactical Ingenuity to the list.
The car eventually stopped in front of an old wooden building, surrounded by dilapidated cars. Bobby's house. Max glanced at the place, immediately recognizing the Sioux Falls Salvage Yard. This place was so familiar, having seen it countless times in the series, yet so different in person. The atmosphere of reality contrasted with the comfort of a screen.
Ding! Demonology Expert download complete. He then selected Expert Mechanic, following his goal of downloading everything in order. He still had a bit of time left, about ten to fifteen minutes to finish the whole process.
— "Get out, kid. We're going in to talk a bit," Bobby said, stepping out of the car.
Max followed Bobby into the house. The familiar smell of old books and worn wood greeted him, and he couldn't help but smile. This place, he had seen so many times on the show, but being here in person was something else. Bobby headed straight for a bookshelf filled with dusty old books.
— "Take a seat," he said in his gruff voice.
Max sat at the table while Bobby rummaged through his things. After a few seconds, he pulled out an old journal and slammed it down on the table with a thud.
— "Alright, kid, you've got two choices. Either you try to forget what you've seen and head back to France. I've got contacts who can sort that out, given your undocumented status. Or… you become a hunter."
He paused, letting the weight of the proposition sink in.
— "Honestly, it'd be better if you could forget. But I know that's going to be hard, especially after what you've just been through."
Before Max could respond, Bobby continued:
— "Take your time to think it over. For now, I'm offering you a meal and a roof for the night. We'll talk more about it tomorrow."
Bobby, true to his rustic style, had prepared a simple but… let's say, basic meal. A stew with vegetables that were clearly past their prime, accompanied by a slice of bread as dry as Bobby's anecdotes about demons. Max took a spoonful of the stew, trying not to grimace.
If I can survive this, I can probably face any monster… he thought with a hint of humor.
After dinner, Bobby showed him to a guest room where he could spend the night. The room was modest, much like the rest of the house, but the bed looked comfortable. Max collapsed onto it, exhausted.
Lying on the bed, the events of the past few hours flashed through his mind. The ghost attack, meeting Bobby, and now, all these skills he had downloaded. He opened his status window to review everything he had gained thanks to Bobby:
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Acquired Skills:
English: Master Level | Rarity: Common | 30 MB
Description: Complete mastery of English, both spoken and written.
Latin: Intermediate Level | Rarity: Uncommon | 60 MB
Description: Ability to read and understand ancient Latin texts, particularly useful for occult rituals.
Master Hunter: Expert Level | Rarity: Rare | 850 MB
Description: Highly skilled in hunting supernatural creatures. Uses specialized weapons and is knowledgeable about the weaknesses of many creatures.
Demonology Expert: Master Level | Rarity: Very Rare | 1.2 GB
Description: Specialist in demons, capable of performing advanced exorcisms and manipulating demonic artifacts.
Tactical Ingenuity: Expert Level | Rarity: Rare | 500 MB
Description: Expertise in effective strategies to counter supernatural creatures and improvise when facing threats.
Expert Mechanic: Expert Level | Rarity: Common | 800 MB
Description: Complete mastery in the repair and modification of vehicles, often adapted for combat against the supernatural.
Occult Polyglot: Intermediate Level | Rarity: Rare | 1 GB
Description: Ability to read and translate several ancient languages related to occult texts. Enables decoding of complex rituals.
Master of Weapons: Expert Level | Rarity: Uncommon | 250 MB
Description: Mastery of various weapons, from firearms to melee weapons. Deep knowledge of their use against supernatural creatures.
Hand-to-Hand Combat Master: Expert Level | Rarity: Rare | 300 MB
Description: A blend of martial arts, developed over years of battling monsters.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Max smiled as he looked over the list. These skills made him feel much more equipped to face this new world. He felt more confident, but also aware that this was just the beginning.
However, as he thought back to the skills he had downloaded from the ghost of Elisabeth and the spider, a realization hit him: "Why do Bobby's skills feel so instinctive, like I've always had them, while the ones from the creatures... I had to fumble to figure out how to use them?"
He frowned, realizing that Bobby's skills came with a sort of understanding, an instinct. It was as if he had received all of Bobby's experience along with the skills. On the other hand, the abilities from the ghost and the spider, while useful, felt more... abstract, almost like tools he didn't fully know how to operate yet.
"Is it because Bobby's human, just like me?" he wondered. "Or is it simply because Bobby's skills are human knowledge?" After all, the abilities he had gained from creatures were more biological, instinctual, even supernatural. Maybe he needed to discover and master them through training and experimentation.
"Or maybe human skills are just easier to grasp... things a human could normally learn with time and experience. Whereas creature abilities require my body and mind to adapt."
He turned over in bed, his mind still racing, before finally concluding: "I'm going to have to test all of this more seriously, figure out what I can really do with these powers."
Just before he fell asleep, another memory surfaced. During dinner with Bobby, he had noticed a few details that seemed strange at the time but now made perfect sense.
"He was testing me... to see if I was a monster," Max thought, an amused smile forming on his lips. At one point, Bobby had insisted he use a silver utensil. Max had complied without thinking, but now he realized it was to check if he was a supernatural creature that would react poorly to silver. Then, he remembered the first glass of water he drank. "That's right... the water tasted a little off..." he realized. It was probably holy water, a classic method for testing demons or other creatures vulnerable to its purity.
"Classic Bobby, never leaves anything to chance," Max thought, admiring the hunter's ingenuity. That simple test had likely reassured Bobby that Max was human—or at least, not an immediate supernatural threat.
He felt a sense of relief as he turned over in bed, thinking that passing these little tests meant Bobby was now giving him a minimum amount of trust. "That's a good sign," he concluded. Then, his eyelids grew heavy, and he finally drifted off to sleep, his mind starting to relax after the crazy, exhausting day.
...
The next morning, around 8 AM, Max slowly opened his eyes. Sunlight filtered through the worn curtains, bathing the room in a soft golden glow. For a few seconds, he lay still, his mind adjusting to this new reality. "It wasn't a dream..." he thought as he stared at the ceiling, still tired from the day before.
He slowly sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes before glancing around. The small guest room Bobby had lent him had a rustic simplicity: a wooden bed, a dusty wardrobe, and an old dresser that seemed to have been standing there for decades. Nothing had changed overnight.
Max cracked his shoulders and stretched before getting up. His thoughts immediately returned to everything he had learned the day before, especially the impressive list of skills he now had downloaded. "It's great to have them, but I'll need to learn how to use them," he realized.
He quickly put on his shoes and got ready to go downstairs. The sound of pots and pans clinking in the kitchen told him Bobby was already up and busy. "I've got to show him I can be useful, not just a burden," he thought as he descended the stairs, ready to face a new day in this dangerous world.
When he entered the kitchen, his eyes still heavy from the previous night, the smell of sizzling bacon filled the room. But his mind was elsewhere. He walked toward the wooden table, where he noticed a calendar hanging on the wall. As he looked closer, his heart tightened slightly. September 10, 2005... three days before the events of the series began.
He knew this small window of time would be crucial in deciding his future in this world. "Three days to prepare, three days to make sure I can follow Sam and Dean." He had thought all night about the best way to proceed. He could have chosen to stay in the background, only intervening at critical moments, but that didn't seem wise. "It's better to stay with them, download the abilities of the creatures they fight, and learn little by little. They're protected by the storyline, and I'm in the original timeline, not one of Chuck's discarded universes."
Bobby, who was busy frying something, spoke without even glancing away from the pan.
— "Sleep well, kid?"
Max hesitated for a moment, looking at Bobby's back. He wasn't in the mood to talk about sleep. He had far more important things on his mind.
— "Not really, Bobby," he replied, his voice a bit hoarse. "I've got something important to discuss with you."
Bobby paused for a second, then resumed cooking, as if he had been expecting Max to say something like that. He didn't say anything else for now, waiting for Max to explain what was on his mind.
Max took a deep breath, preparing to reveal his plan, knowing that what he was about to say had to sound credible. After all, he needed Bobby's help to meet Sam and Dean.
— "During the night, I had... a sort of vision," Max began, trying to give his story a solemn tone. Bobby didn't react immediately, still focused on cooking, but Max knew he was listening closely.
— "I saw a world in ruin, a place where everything was bleeding. People were suffering, crying... it all seemed so real, Bobby... like I was really there. I could hear their screams, feel the heat of the fire consuming everything. Then... it all stopped suddenly."
Bobby glanced over his shoulder briefly, his face impassive. Max continued, reinforcing his lie with the necessary conviction.
— "That's when I saw a light, and a voice spoke to me... It told me that it was up to me to change this world, to save it from the approaching apocalypse. To do that, I had to find two people... Sam and Dean. But... I didn't get any other information. I don't know their last names or where to find them, but everything... it felt so real. The fire, the screams, the suffering... like I had been teleported back into that hell."
Bobby stopped cooking entirely this time, setting the spatula on the counter. He turned to Max, his gaze fixed on him, searching his face for any sign of doubt or deception.
— "And you think this vision was what, exactly? A prophecy?" Bobby asked, his tone neither skeptical nor believing, but more curious. He was used to hearing strange stories, and this wasn't the craziest.
Max shrugged, playing the role of a young man troubled by what he had seen.
— "I don't know... but it seemed like more than just a dream. I feel like something bigger is at play. That I'm... meant to be part of all this. And that Sam and Dean are the key."
Bobby watched him for a moment longer, scrutinizing every detail of Max's face, then slowly shook his head.
— "I believe you, kid. Before you mentioned Sam and Dean, I was still a little skeptical. But I know a Dean, and I know a Sam too. They're brothers. I don't know why that voice told you about them... This could be some post-traumatic symptom after what you went through yesterday. But hearing you talk about it, and the fact that those names came out of nowhere, I can tell you're probably not hallucinating."
Bobby crossed his arms, his expression growing more serious.
— "Those two carry a heavy burden. If your vision's connected to them, then something really big is going down."
"I haven't heard from Sam in a while, but I know he went off to college. He gave up the hunter's life for a quieter one. I wouldn't want to disturb him. He deserves that peace. But I can get you in touch with Dean... later. For now, though, kid, you don't have the skills to face the monsters. If you want to survive, I'm going to have to teach you the ropes."*
He frowned. Max respected Bobby, but he knew he didn't have much time. "Two days... I have three days before everything starts," he thought, the series timeline running through his head. He knew that if he stayed under Bobby's wing too long, he risked missing the crucial opportunity to meet Dean, and more importantly, to save Sam's girlfriend, Jessica, before it was too late.
Max began to think intensely. He knew he had to prove to Bobby that he could handle himself, or else Bobby would keep a close eye on him. He needed to find a way to show Bobby that he was ready, or at least capable of surviving in this world.
"I'm going to have to prove I'm not just some lost kid..."
Over the rest of the day and the following two days, Max decided to put all his efforts into proving to Bobby what he was capable of. He needed to show him that he could become an efficient hunter. With the skills he had downloaded from Bobby, those gained from the spider and the ghost, he knew he had an edge. But he had to prove to Bobby that these skills weren't just theoretical. He needed to put them into practice.
Day 1: September 10 - Training begins
Max started by pretending he had no prior experience. But as the day went on, he showed incredible progress in every area Bobby taught him. Whether it was learning how to handle different weapons or understanding rituals and supernatural creatures, he mastered everything at an alarming pace. Bobby, for his part, grew more and more surprised.
"How is this kid learning so fast?" Bobby thought as he watched Max handle weapons he had just been taught to use.
Max, meanwhile, was secretly using the skills he had downloaded. In reality, he was discreetly downloading knowledge from all of Bobby's books, absorbing information about monsters, their weaknesses, and rituals as if he were reading the minds of the authors.
Day 2: September 11
Max kept up his act, still pretending to be a novice. But every time Bobby taught him something new, Max absorbed it in record time. He pretended to be discovering each new skill, so as not to raise suspicion, all while using his abilities to accelerate his progress.
Bobby couldn't help but think, "If that vision he told me about is real, I'm starting to understand why this kid is supposed to save the world. In two days of training, he's absorbed everything I could teach him. It's like he's soaking up every bit of knowledge without effort."
Day 3: September 12 - End of training
On the final day, Bobby put Max to the test in more real-life situations. They tracked a minor creature together to see how Max would react in a dangerous situation. To Bobby's great surprise, Max seemed to know exactly what to do, as if he had already lived through these scenarios.
Watching Max from a distance, Bobby murmured to himself, "If I hadn't secretly tested him with silver, holy water, and a few other tricks to see if he was a monster, I'd have thought otherwise. This kid's a monster of learning."
Max had managed to prove to Bobby that he could handle himself. He had absorbed everything he needed to know in just three days, with such mastery that even Bobby, a veteran hunter, was impressed. Max knew he was now ready to leave and find Dean, ready to face the supernatural world that awaited him.
END Chapter 4
...
**Update completed on Maxwell's status with Bobby's skills**
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