บท 58: Hunting for food
"Is that all?" Ester asked with a puzzled frown after she and Lupa helped to frame the second pelt.
"It was cold in Tival Village, but no commoner like me could find cloths made from animal pelts. Could this really become a piece of clothing that doesn't stink like what the rich can buy?" Ester seemed interested in what the final product would become.
"I will show you the next process when they dry straightened and stretched by the frame. " Vincent smirked with a poker face.
When they dry, he would need to apply the brain tanning solution. The thought of touching the boar's brain almost made him puke if it wasn't for the captivating curious crimson eyes staring at him with intrigue.
Later, the three pelts were all stretched and framed. Vincent took out his watch and checked the time. He was surprised to find how almost half a day passed by.
-Hey Kazumi. Are you there?-
[Yep. I wanted to give you some alone time with your harem, hehe. Look at the time. It seems we won't be traveling for a long day.]
Vincent used inspection on himself. The result he expected was displayed on the notification window.
'Sixty percent more until the ability becomes available.' He thought with a grin.
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[Name] Vincent Agius
[Condition] Healthy
[Soul Power] 20sp
[Class] Soul Hero
[Class] Soul Mutation
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[Class Soul Hero]
*Inspection(Basic)
*Soul Spells - Minor Heal
*Retainer Bond (Blessed)
*Dimensional Storage (Unable to use until 100% understanding. Current progress is 40%)
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Vincent went to search the cart to hide a grin from excitement. Then he took out a bowl container with the Great Yok Boar's brain inside.
It was the material needed to make the brain tanning possible. He needed to preserve it before it would spoil.
"Could you freeze this?" Vincent handed Ester two bowls on top of each other.
Ester felt happy when she was asked to help with her power. 'I can finally be of some help now.' She thought while holding the bowl container.
Ester focused on her mana. Promptly, two glowing sigils of frost appeared hovering around her hands. The gentle breeze surrounding the three became cool by her ability.
[Ester is a genius Sigil Mage. I didn't see her practice after waking up, but she uses the Frost Sigil spell like a master.]
Kazumi could sense the mana surrounding Ester without any oddities nor overflow. A thing possible from training many days with sensei Kazumi in her Soul Domain.
"Let's pack the frames and leave after Ester finishes. We have half a day of walking waiting for us." Vincent said while he placed the frames inside the cart.
Ester didn't take long to freeze the bowl container. With everything set, the group began covering more distance until Lupa thought she heard something moving.
Lupa stopped walking. She attentively looked at their surroundings with a pair of ears tilted and turning around to pinpoint the location of the sound.
"I think there might be small animals ahead of us. I can hear the weak sound of multiple footsteps a bit further. It sounds similar to the two squirrels we let go. " Lupa said with a grin. Her mouth had visible drool; her tail wagged with the urge to run and hunt. She was excited, without a doubt.
Vincent and Ester stopped. Vincent grabbed the short sword and quickly gave it to Ester. Then he grabbed a spear, ready for some hunting.
[I could scout the area, but my max range limit isn't very far. I also feel a bit weak from doing your job, Mr.Hero.]
-Rest if you feel tired. It's dangerous to force yourself. Your body is made from mana after all.-
[Thank you.]
Kazumi felt happy for caring about her. Even though she loves to tease him, Vincent never showed signs of hating her.
"I will check with my wolf form." Lupa impatiently said. She quickly hid behind the cart, undressed, and shapeshifted into a white wolf. Then she swiftly left to check it out.
"Was Lupa always this eager when I was sick?" Ester asked while feeling that yes would be the most probable answer.
"That's why we had to fight against the Great Yok Boar. She approached too close and got discovered." Vincent frowned while tieing the small pouch of numb paste to his waist.
Vincent and Ester carefully followed Lupa's direction. Soon, he raised a smile after Lupa found the next meal. Her voice was slightly different from Kazumi, so it wasn't hard to know who it was.
[There are two small animals with brown fur. I never had the chance to taste this kind of long-eared food.]
"Lupa found rabbits. " Vincent whispered, eager to catch a rabbit.
Ester nodded while following behind. She held the short sword against her chest to hide her nervousness. It was her first time hunting with someone else or something other than fish.
Vincent and Ester peeked from behind a bush. It was a small open space with no trees. There were two rabbits eating grass and an underground rabbit nest nearby. One was far while the other one was a meter from its entrance.
'I can throw the spear but... I haven't thrown anything for years. I'm going to miss for sure.'
Vincent thought with a conflicted frown. To throw and most likely miss, or to run and catch the rabbit. Both options were against him.
"Do you know how to throw a spear?" Vincent whispered. He heard how Ester hunted for fish. Maybe she was an expert in using a spear.
However, Ester sadly shook her head. She felt unhelpful once again.
Lupa lowered her body while walking like a predator sneaking at its prey; she strolled without making a sound as she controlled the steps made by her paws.
Lupa acquired a human mind and understanding; this allowed her to plan, learn, and use the right knowledge at the right time. She would become a terrifying white wolf because of this. One that can't be underestimated.
[I'm near the food that is eating next to the hole in the ground. I will hunt when you act because you are the pack leader, so I await your move, my mate.]
Lupa had the instinct of a hunter. She knew if Vincent said the code word "Ambush," the rabbits would escape.
Lupa slyly said this for potential praise. Then she raised her awareness to the maximum to pick up any of Vincent's actions.
Vincent understood his target was the one in the middle. At the same time, he couldn't aim at the nest because multiple tree branches blocked his view.
'Did Lupa need to add the last bit?' Vincent sighed while thinking of the harem Kazumi continually inserting in his mind.
Ironically, both hoped the other's success would compensate for their failure. If Vincent failed, he depended on Lupa to catch hers. If Lupa failed, she depended on him to catch his.
[Why don't you use the numb paste on your back? Wasn't the paste made for a situation like this?]
-Ahh... you are right. I was so focused on how to throw the spear that I forgot about the numb paste pouch on my waist.-
Vincent grabbed the small pouch from his waist, opened it, and shoved the spear's pointy tip inside. Then he twisted the spear and took it out.
The tip of the spear was now coated with the numb paste. However, Vincent wasn't confident of his current strength. He needed an extra boost to hit.
'I have to use Overheat. I might be able to hit the rabbit with the extra strength and strange focus it gives me.' Vincent thought as he held the spear with a firm grip.
"Overheat," Vincent whispered.
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[Overheat activated.]
[Mutation starting to alter the host...]
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Ester felt the temperature around them become warmer. She could see his eyes shine like a green jewel under the sun, his arms wrapped by a strange moving liquid as it quickly hardened, and two light trails of steam escaping from the sides of his mouth.
Ester gulped. She still felt uncomfortable by his appearance. Overload Vincent nearly killed her, so she needed some time to get used to seeing this form.
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[Mutation process finished.]
[Race altered to mutated human for its duration.]
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Vincent stood up. He took a throwing pose with the hope of hitting the rabbit. Overheat seemed to increase his current strength by an unknown amount, and his reflexes as well.
Vincent placed all the strength he could muster in his arm. He held the spear so hard it almost got crushed under his unknown and uncontrolled powerful grip.
Vincent couldn't feel his hands. He felt as if he had none, yet they were attached and moved to his will. The current solution of accurate control was to command his hands by thought.
There was a delay in his actions, such as opening or closing his hands. To think for an action and act upon it is slower then if the body moves on instinct.
Vincent took a deep breath while he focused on the small furry target in front of him. But controlling the trajectory became harder.
Ironically, Overheat made him worse at throwing the spear than without it. He gained strength and perception at the cost of a form that he didn't master.
Vincent didn't have time to second guess. He exhaled forward, puffing a small cloud of faint green steam. The trail acted like a laser sight until it began to dissipate.
'OPEN!' Vincent thought while his arm moved forward with all he had. The brain sent the order to his hand and opened it at the right time.
*Whoosh
The spear shot forward like an arrow from the bush. It headed for its victim at a swift speed. However, the trajectory began to change in mid-flight.
Vincent thought it was because of the bend at the end of the spear. But that wasn't the case. He didn't know how his hand held the spear as if he wanted the crush it.
The spear couldn't withstand his continuous crushing grip, so cracks began to form. The force of the wind made the spear start to break from the cracks.
The rabbit raised its ear's full attention at the quickly approaching whistling sound. However, it couldn't dodge whatever was heading on its way. The sound was too fast and too close.
The spear missed its target by a few inches. As it landed on the ground, the impact was too much for the cracking spear to bear.
It shattered like an explosion and covering the surrounding two meters with a could of dust. Dust covered their vision, making Vincent and Ester unable to tell if he hit or missed.
Lupa heard the order to hunt, loud and clear with a bang at that. She lunged forward at the startled rabbit. However, the rabbit stared at Lupa instead.
ความคิดของผู้สร้าง 
VisualKoFey
VisualKoFey The group tries their hand in hunting. The impatient wolf unintentionally announces her presence from not controlling her bloodlust while the MC misses the target, creating a small cloud of dust. Stealth hunting wasn't this group's forte.
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