บท 126: The Hunted Hunter

"Hello, I would like to measure my strength."

In the Auralba's Warrior's Guild, standing at the front desk, Gerald expressed his wishes. After a short identity-verifying process, he was directed to a room in the back.

In there, two assistants explained to him how the whole process worked and how he should use all the machines for measuring his strength.

For those short few minutes, he gave it his all, pushing himself to the limits without using any magic or potions.

Although he was missing a hand, surprisingly, his strength increased in the past month. Although it wasn't much and he was still at the rank of Iron-1, he was now already close to 140 kg of pure strength.

"Would you like to get an official emblem for your rank?" one of the assistants asked. Usually, young people came to measure their strength so they could get an emblem and show off.

"No thanks." Gerald was not interested in having any fancy jewelry that did not increase his magic capabilities.

Advertising his strength? That would be exactly the opposite of what he wanted.

He spent the next few hours eavesdropping on conversations in the main hall and gathering information.

He engaged in casual conversation with seasoned warriors, asking about the dangerous areas he should avoid.

Of course, coming off as a newbie, many gave him advice and warnings to watch out for dangerous beasts lurking in the woods.

Gerald conveniently had a map at hand and people generously pointed out the areas to avoid.

At the end of the day, he had a map full of extra markings and reminders.

It was perfect. So many dangerous areas, he could never stumble upon them by himself. Luckily he now had the perfect hunting grounds marked out for him for free.

Gerald stored the map in an inside pocket of his leather jacket and happily went home, excited for the next day.

***

With the sunrise the next morning, Gerald already left the comfort of his own home.

He notified his friends about his plans about leaving for a while the night before, so there was nothing to fear about his absence.

Of course, he had to do a bit of shopping before departure, mainly some dry supplies, like jerky and some crackers. Then he also got a few small bits and pieces of various handy tools that could possibly be required in setting traps or shelter.

He also picked up a few pouches of Scent-Removing Powder to be as inconspicuous as possible.

Lastly, he visited the Auction House and bought one of their famous Golden Space Pouches to store his stuff in.

Those one hundred gold coins he received from selling the Broodmother's head were wisely spent.

The previous day, during the gathering of information he noticed a peculiarity. The area around the capital was obviously the safest, while the danger increased in one direction more than the others.

Traveling South-West was the best way to mistakenly enter the territory of a powerful monster and get yourself killed.

But that's exactly the place Gerald wanted. Going closer to the middle of the continent would bring much better herbs for potions and stronger beasts for his delicious meals.

"I'm finally ready!"

He left Auralba with light steps and high morale as his first target was not too far away, just a bit to the south, towards a territory of a herd of wild boars.

The main reason why he chose them as his target was simple. Wild boars were omnivores and only ate meat occasionally when the opportunity presented itself. They did not actively hunt and were easily spooked, even if they were strong.

For that reason, they were ideal low-risk targets that Gerald could use to sharpen his skills.

In spite of all the advantages he had, he still had to be careful. An enraged boar could easily gut a person in seconds, and they were no pushovers.

A few hours later, nearing to the desired location, Gerald sprinkled the Scent-Removing Powder all over himself.

He then climbed on a tree and jumped from one branch to the next. He traveled like this through the forest, weightlessly gliding short distances.

His movements were completely silent and if anyone was specifically looking for him, they would only see a momentary shadow.

He moved like a specter across the canopies of the centuries-old trees in search of his target. He had to stop and recover his Mana often, but that was to be expected.

Close to sundown, just as he was munching on a piece of dried jerky, a sound of stomping around, entered his ears.

Gerald silently followed the sound and soon came across a herd of wild boars, leisurely eating young, juicy leaves and shoots, as well as nibbling on roots of various herbs and flowers.

'There they are!' Gerald's eyes shone in the shadows. His entire day of searching did not go to waste.

At a quick glance, he counted about fifteen of the brown-striped animals, but even more, were moving in the distance under the undergrowth.

But these small, normal-sized boars weren't what he was looking for. His target was something bigger, like the giant boar he once saw.

Thud, thud~

The ground lightly shook and the trees were pushed apart. A behemoth of a wild swine entered Gerald's vision range.

Being three meters tall and five meters long, the wild boar was a sight to behold. His long hairs were clumped together, giving it the appearance of dark, tree bark.

"What the hell is that?!" Gerald watched with wide-opened eyes. The beast was something he did not expect.

Thinking back to the time when he read the Bestiary, the animal before him was most likely an early-stage Brown Boar King. With fur a dozen centimeters thick and a hide as tough as hardened leather, it was not something that just anyone could kill.

"Its strength reaches up there in high Silver-rank, and the defense is too great for even my cannon to blast trough, that's for sure. If I accidentally anger it, unless I immediately fly away, I'm going to be in some deep shit."

Compared to the behemoth of the Boar King, the rest of the herd were like small piglets.

As the sun began to set and long dark shadows covered the forest, the Boar King leisurely laid down on its stomach and fell asleep.

The rest of the boars came closer and squeezed under their big brother. They all fell asleep peacefully in a giant ball of fur.

"Hmm, I can't do much here… I'll have to find some other target tomorrow." Gerald silently jumped higher on the tree and found himself a place to sleep near the top. He sprinkled around a bit more of the Scent-Removing Powder, before also closing his eyes and floating away to the land of dreams.

***

Grrr~

The sound of animal growling woke him up.

It was early in the morning and the sun just barely started showing its brilliance, with light mist floating just above the ground, giving the forest a surreal feeling.

But that mystical feeling was disrupted by beasts' growls and roars. Looking down from his hiding spot, Gerald saw three Wargs circling the herd of boars.

The Brown Boar King made angry grunting sounds, with its hairs standing up, making it look even bigger and more menacing.

It was looking from one Warg to the next, turning around wildly. There was always one of them in its blind spot, just waiting for an opportunity to snatch one of the smaller pigs.

With bloody eyes and razor-sharp teeth, the Wargs were barely able to hold themselves back in the presence of so much live food.

Finally, after what seemed forever to Gerald, who was watching from afar, immediately after the Boar King turned around, a Warg launched forward to attack.

Nyooo~

A wild pig squealed in fright.

Thud!

With a hard stomp of its hooves, the Boar King swiftly turned around and glared hatefully at the attacking Warg. It blew hot air of its snout and rushed forward like a charging locomotive.

The ground trembled under its weight and young trees in its way were uprooted. The Warg immediately regretted its decision, released the pig, and tried to retreat.

But the Boar King was furious! With a dim flash of light, a patch of dirt turned to mud, trapping the Warg in the sticky ground for a second. But that was enough.

Bam!

The beasts collided and the bloodthirsty predator was sent flying. In the collision, its body was pierced by the long and sharp tusks of the Boar King, and the landing was rough, breaking bones and tearing the skin.

The Warg looked miserable, and its whimpers gave out a feeling of pain and helplessness. Soon a puddle of blood formed around the body, and a minute later, the beast was dead.

"Whoa!" Gerald looked on from his safe vantage point, cold sweat running down his back. "It was so fast! I could barely see it!"

Indeed, the Brown Boar King was immensely fast considering its body size. That was probably a good five tones of pure muscle and bone, similar to a grown-up elephant, galloping at the speed of a race car. The amount of energy it had in its frontal charge was enough to demolish those weaker city walls.

It was absolutely terrifying.