Hunting

Dead trees that went as far as the eye could see turned the landscape into something that would give you chills, especially at night, but even during the day that gray scenery was frightening. The land covered by ash made locomotion worse because of the accumulation of ash that gathered more and more, with time the land became infertile and countless animals fled or died, making the forest a desert place where death is the premature end of the majority.

But for those who have nowhere to go, crossing it in search of something is a solution that even with low chances ends up being something necessary, whether because of the preference of loved ones or out of sheer despair.

That was the case of the two people who now wander through the forest towards the mountains. Victor seemed used to walking in the forest, so he followed without any difficulty.

On the other hand, Satoru had never dealt with someone like that in his life, and because he was a little out of shape, he sometimes had to stop walking to rest.

Not knowing how many miles the two had walked, the forest was already starting to get too dark for them to continue, so it was decided that they camped right there.

Victor had a bit of difficulty at first, but they finally managed to light the fire with little good quality wood they found. The atmosphere was quite embarrassing, on one side Victor was afraid that the young man in front of him would kill him, on the opposite side, Satoru was worried about thinking something to say, but amid such a situation, nothing came to his mind.

With the crackles of firewood burning, Victor opens a small bag he had around his waist and a few pieces of dried meat, two snuffed out with it, and another two he stretched towards Satoru.

“Come on, take it, it's no use if you die before hunting something”, said Victor with his hand outstretched.

“Eh, of course, thanks for the food”

Satoru accepted the food, and then joined his hands and thanked him.

“A weird way to say thanks for the meal?” Victor pointed curiously while chewing a piece of meat.

Satoru pulled all the curtains and then finally managed to pull out a piece of meat, the taste was extremely salty and not at all pleasant.

“You think? Where I came from was normal” Missing your voice, Satoru it sounded nostalgic talking, even though it hadn't been that long since he'd been forcibly pulled into this world.

“This place you came from, are there more people like you?”

“Like this?”

“I mean...hmmm, stronger than they look?”

Satoru soon understood what Victor wanted to know, it was obvious that he still didn't trust Satoru.

“No, I mean, there are, but not in the way you think”

"Are you going to tell how you ended up at this end of the world?" Victor, who had finished eating, took a canteen from the side of his bag and took a sip of water.

“I'm not even sure, something dragged me against my will, when I woke up I was already at Yurien-san's house”

“Yurien-san? Never having heard such a way of expressing himself, Victor turned his head”

"Eh? don't you know what honorific is?"

"Ho...no...ri...fic?"

"It's kind of a respectful way to call someone," Satoru tried to explain.

“Oh, that's it! haha it's a form I've never seen before, around here we only use it, sir or madam, but that's only with people who had higher status than the peasants, just call me Victor”

Not realizing what he was doing, the man momentarily forgot why he didn't get too close to the young man and began to speak in a friendly manner.

“Of course, V-victor”

Not used to that way of speaking, Satoru is embarrassed when it comes to speaking.

“You get used to it, now, go to sleep, I'll take care of the first watch, I'd be careless if no one pays attention.”

“Right, good night.”

Satoru looked around and saw that place covered in ash, no corner looked good to sleep in, so he snuggled with his back against a dead tree trunk that was near the fire. With time the night flew by, Satoru even when he had to stay awake, perhaps because he was still sleepy, did not notice that his body was no longer shivering due to the cold.

It was amazing, not hearing sound or insects at night especially being in a forest. Then another day arrived, due to gray clouds it was not possible to see rays of the sun, but it was clear enough for them to continue on their way.

No one had any idea of ​​the exact distance to the mountains, the only thing that was known was that there were still animals there that could be hunted. When they finally left the dead forest, the mountains were possible to be seen more clearly now, however, Satoru was startled to see the trees that were in the way.

Victor shook his head, when he saw it for the first time he also got a little startled.

"This is known as the forest of the ancients, Beren, who knows the history of this place, all I know is that it tends to be very difficult to get through, luckily that's just a small part of it, follow me and you'll be fine.”

Satoru nodded and followed Victor, not understanding why Satoru felt good in this forest, but not in a sentimental way, but physically, however, he wasn't the only one to notice this, as when he realized he was walking at the same pace as the person in front of him, something he had not been able to achieve so far.

"Not bad, it seems that being young has its perks." In a playful tone, Victor said as he noticed Satoru beside him.

"That's right, haha."

Uncomfortable with being complimented like that, the young man scratched his head as he chuckled lamely.

Of course, Satoru kept his body a secret, he had barely started talking to anyone again, it was a good chance to get the people in the village to accept him.

As they passed through the small stretch of the forest of the ancients, they finally saw what they most wanted, the foothills of the mountains. Maybe they weren't that big yet, but it was still a considerable climb, luckily they weren't that steep.

"What we're hunting, they're called black horn sheep, the name is very suggestive, they're not very strong, but sometimes they walk in groups, if you mess with one they all attack you, that's why we want those who are alone, understand ?"

“Y-yes, but what if we don't get any today?

"Well, these mountains have several caves, we found a safe one, and we stayed until dawn. to be honest, I know you want to keep your promise that you're as desperate as we are, but value your life."

Victor stopped with his back to the mountains and spoke Seriously with Satoru, he might be one of the people I judged him to be and voted to kick him out of the village, but now they depended on each other, so getting involved in an argument wasn't ideal.

After they got along, the two-headed upstairs, luckily, they didn't carry much, Victor wasn't used to doing that all the time, so sometimes he missteps, Satoru was managing to do it with some ease, his arms and legs didn't seem to be as out of shape as he thought.

But of course, his aptitude with something he's never done put a question in his mind where that strange adaptability came from. The smaller mountains where they were climbing were made of black stone, the parts that rose beyond the ground had red stripes the smell of burning was stronger as you climbed it, however, the black horn goats were always higher up. As they could descend and climb with ease, hunting reptiles that roam the rocks was done with some ease.

When the two rookie hunters reached a larger flat surface, they stopped to take a breath, after all, the higher they climbed the thinner the air would get, but even then they could still breathe normally.

"Hey, don't make a noise," Whispering Victor pointed in one direction.

Satoru then saw, a little over 1.30 tall, a goat with thick black horns, its fur was gray and yellow eyes, it didn't look very threatening, however, Satoru under normal conditions would never mess with such an animal, mostly not being one he knew.

Victor positioned himself hidden behind a rock that covered him entirely, with the bow in hand he straightened to shoot, but by the way, he was shaking, Satoru understood that the proficiency of the man in front of him was not very good.

If the village had never ended up in this situation, Victor wouldn't even think of using a bow in his life. Drawing an arrow from the quiver, fitting the bow, awkwardly, he drew the arrow back. When he fired, his body swayed a little, and his arrow hit right into the goat's thigh.

It let out a shriek of pain, the sounds of its hooves trotting away from its hunters, echoed off the rocks.

"Chase her, don't let it go far!" Victor hastily pulled another arrow from his quiver and started to run, Satoru also dashed out and unsheathed his sword.

So began the hectic hunt, with two humans running after his haste, who jumped and ran everywhere, that was the problem, the two had to run and climb more the mountain. Luckily the trail of blood running from the wound caused by the arrow will help not to lose track.

Victor was the first to arrive, stubbornly he pulls an arrow along the bowstring and then releases it, thus hitting another arrow. Satoru right behind was a little hesitant to kill the animal, but apparently, Victor was going to do it himself.

The place where they were was at the mouth of a cave, soon the sound of another arrow being fired was heard, and the goat no longer had any way to fight, fell to the ground dead.

“Come on boy, let's be quick now.” signaling to Satoru, Victor walked after the goat.

Being further back, Satoru still with the sword in hand, he saw something moving fast from the cave, the steps were heavy and constant, for some reason something inside his body stirred.

"Victor, be careful!"

"WHA…"

Even with the warning, to no avail, when the man realized that something could threaten him, his body was hit by a large wooden object, the last one Satoru saw was a bulge of the object and the man being thrown too far.

Because right after that a being of two and a half meters ran towards him, with a bulging belly, thick and pointed teeth, his skin was greenish, the only thing that was wearing on his body was a loincloth of gray skin with several bones of animals adorning around the being's waist.

His face was monstrous, the look of an enraged beast any soldier would fear to see. Dropping his sword to the ground, Satoru fell on his back, his body even in its best time, it wouldn't compare to the enemy in front of him.

Before he even realized it, the thing running towards him, he had another wooden object in his hand, it was an improvised club before he even realized it, Satoru was thrown away by a full blow, thus making his mind erase.

⊛⊛⊛

"She doesn't suspect anything."

"Hahahaha, relaxes a little, why doesn't have a drink?" said the voices of two men talking.

"No, I have to go back, if she suspects it's gone."

"A filthy demon wouldn't be smart enough," said the thinnest-voiced man in iron armor.

"You don't know her, you can't imagine how dangerous Hilda can be"

"The other man then walked to the door of the tavern, Beren, holding a sack of meat he had bought in the town itself."

As soon as the man left, everything went dark, until a small light appeared, small as a firefly, then it expanded and everything cleared, the sound of something boiling and the heat making Satoru's senses come back.

Awake, he didn't know how he had survived, but that was for later in his mind, the stream of memories that had been foggy, now they had fit together just right, not understanding how exactly he had done it, Satoru accessed all of Beren's memories.

But the secret that inhabited them, made his belly warm, however, not in a good way, but from anxiety, he had to tell the people of the village, or at least Hilda.

Wandering in thought, he soon realized, it wouldn't be that easy as a bigger problem awaited him. Not far from where he was, that being who knocked him down before, was the black-horned goat in a fire, for that he uses a long wooden stick. There was nowhere to hide, if Satoru moved too much the being would spot him, soon it would be his end. Checking his own body, he realized that his sword was no longer there, it had probably been left at the entrance to the cave.

Thinking, Satoru didn't see Victor's body anywhere, in his mind he hoped that Victor was alive, in the meantime, he noticed that being, very much resembled a hobgoblin or an orc, but without knowing anything about how this world works., he could not identify with certainty.

The place where he seemed to be was a cave hall, his body not far from the entrance. Judging better to run away, it was now that the green giant was eating, with nothing better he could do, Satoru got up without trying to draw attention, as the position was favorable for him, with his vision of your enemy being limited.

The initial plan was to get up and run, but seeing that there were many small and loose rocks, he began to walk carefully, but at the same time without taking too long, the food wouldn't take long. As he crossed the hall, a dark path opened up in front of him, it was the only entrance and exit, now he would have to be quick.

Without looking back the boy ran through the dark cave, sometimes he tripped or bumped into a wall, but what Victor said to him made him continue.

With the exit already in sight, Satoru quickened his pace, but his happiness was ripped from him instantly, with a scream that echoed throughout the cavern.