Chương 27: Let the Hunt Begin!!
The little kitten woke up with an inaudible yawn as she pawed at her tired eyes. Her left eye peaked open for a second before closing once more, too tired to stay open. Before she could return to her slumber however, a comparatively large hand brushed against her soft silver fur. The little kitten's greenish-red eyes opened once again to see Jonathan sitting up from his bed, covers draped down at his waist and one of his hands covering his mouth as he stifled a long yawn.
"Wake up, little lass." Jonathan spoke between yawns. "We need to prepare for the long day ahead of us!"
While Jonathan got dressed, the little kitten squeezed her small frame through the tents entrance and exited to the outside. Currently, everyone else from their party was up and about while Uncle Kil was nowhere to be seen.
'I guess Uncle Kil is talking to the organizers again...' The little kitten guessed.
As she walked up to the warmth of the fire, a few of the soldier's greeted her with a few pats and she returned their greeting with a soft "meow!".
Beside the fire, the two servants were cooking as always and as the little kitten looked around, she could see the small fire's of the surrounding tents and could see some other people in the middle of eating or cooking as well. Looking at these people more closely than before, she also began to notice some the Magical Beast's roaming at their sides.
She recognized some of these Magical Beasts as one's she had seen previously, such as the Dark Fang and the Red Fanged Boar. She also saw a beast that was rather like a bear. it lied with eyes closed next to its owner and had a peculiar set of ivory spikes jutting out of its back, making a line down its spine. There was also a person walking about with a snake like Magical Beast swirled around his thick neck. This snake looked rather normal except that it had mystifying dark violet scales and excessively long sharp fangs that made any sane person hesitant to be anywhere near it.
'There truly are all sorts of Magical Beasts in this world. I've also come to realise that most Magical Beasts seem to be similar to a lot of the animals I recognise from my old world... At least that helps me understand them better, even if only a little.' As she was thinking this, the tent she had just left moments ago opened once more and a yawning Jonathan crawled out in a leisurely fashion.
"Good morning, little lass." Jonathan greeted with a smile before taking a seat next to the little kitten, not forgetting to pat her soft luxurious silver fur along the way.
"Meow!" She meowed back in greeting, leaning into his touch.
Several minutes later, while the little kitten and Jonathan were in the middle of their morning meal, it was at this time that Uncle Kil returned, speaking as he walked over. "Alright everyone, finish up your meals. Everyone's gathering at the edge of Thunder Mountain in ten minutes!"
The little kitten and Jonathan's eyes lit up and they both began to consume their meals at a quickened pace. It wasn't only the little kitten who was excited about the Thunder Mountain hunt, even Jonathan was boiling with excitement at the prospect of gaining some spoils as it was also his first time taking part in this event.
★★★
The red and orange forest of Thunder Mountain fluttered in the morning sun and the clouds above were dim with light grey clouds. Just outside the forest, a gathering of people and beasts alike was taking place.
There had to be around a hundred people in total, with only a small portion of them with Magical Beast's tagging along with them. At the forefront of this gathering two men stood tall like mountains. Both were tall, yet gave off very different impressions.
On the left, the man stood with arms behind his back. He had long, flowing brown hair and a handsome countenance. When one looked at him, one couldn't help but feel like they were looking at a hero. This was aided by his clothing, which mainly consisted of light but strong looking silver armour mixed with brown leather. His blue eyes swept through the crowd of people before him and everyone felt that those eyes could read into their very being.
This was the power one gains at the Spirit Rank, the Conscious Eye. An ability that lets a Magician scan external magic just as well as their Unconscious Eye scans themselves. At the Spirit Rank, one could only read their opponents of the same level and below, and required the opposing party to first activate their power. However, at the Reformation Stage and on wards, the Conscious Eye will only improve with every breakthrough in rank. At the Reformation Stage, a Magician could read a person's aura without it being activated, though they wouldn't be able to read into Magician's of a higher rank unless that opponent wished for them to.
The second person held a mysterious air. Upon his head was a small black mask that covered the area around his eyes and swept back behind his two ears. His red eyes also swept through the crowd and gave off the seem feeling as the heroic man, except his gaze also held a trace of a sinister oppression that seemed to weigh down on every single one of them. His black hair was swept back and shone in the orange morning glow. A black robe reached his ankles and his hands were hidden behind long and baggy sleeves.
When those red eyes finished scanning the crowd, the black masked man's mouth suddenly formed into a small, somewhat sinister smirk and he proceeded to speak in a loud and clear voice. Everyone who heard it felt like his voice was speaking directly at them in an overbearing manner. "Listen up! I am the leader of this hunt, the Mist Step Magician, Rod Valen! Call me Mist Step!"
Mist Step then turned to his right and gestured towards his companion who nodded back in compliance. "And I am the Hidden Blade Magician, Brandon Mos! Likewise, you can simply call me Hidden Blade!"
The little kitten couldn't help but take in a deep breath. 'How oppressive, they're just standing there and I feel a huge pressure weighing down on me!'
Mist Step's commanding voice broke everyone out of their thoughts with a sneer. "Snap out of it! There's no time to be scatterbrained! When we enter Thunder Mountain, there are going to be beasts ranging from Minor Magical Beasts to Major Transcended Magical Beast's in the many hundreds!"
"Correct! I see a few Magician and Magical Beast's here that are quite law in rank, so you better stick close to your companions if you want to come out of this alive!" Hidden Blade spoke up at this time, his tone being comparatively warmer than his counterpart. "I'll try to look out for those stronger beast's, but I can't take the time to protect all one hundred and more of you at all times!"
"On day one, we'll be travelling up the mountain at quite a quick speed with the goal of reaching a cave that has been set up with Magical runes of protection." Mist Step continued. "There are two more of these caves, making three in total, each taking around a days worth of travel to reach! After that third cave, it's time to get passed those roaming Thunder Scaled Half-Dragon's! But you won't have to worry about them, it's my job to get you passed them through the use of the Void Magic's mass teleportation spell!"
"Alright, everyone are we ready?" Hidden Blade asked with a smirk. In answer to this, a mass majority of the once silent gathering took in a deep breath before bellowing outwards with various battle cries.
"I'm definitely going to get a powerful treasure from those ruins!"
"I'm gonna pave a path of blood!"
"This is my chance to finally make a breakthrough!"
Many people began to shout bold proclamation's, rousing each other's fighting spirit. The little kitten couldn't help but feel her blood pumping aggressively as well. She looked at Jonathan to see his lips pursed up into a grin and she could tell that he was looking forward to the adventure ahead as well.
"Alright then!" Hidden Blade bellowed with a large grin. "Then let the hunt begin!!"
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