[Author’s Note] Thank you! The second half of the series is just around the corner. I need to write a bunch of chapters quickly! ㄷㄷ 40th episode
13. Hunter
039 – Hunter #3
━Ka-rururuk.
What a unique sound!
It struck directly in my mind like a catchy jingle you just can’t shake off.
Aile instantly recognized it as the howl of the white beast she encountered the previous evening.
“L- Leader!”
“Yeah, I heard it too. Must be nearby.”
“Do you think it followed us? Or is it a different one?”
Aile, the bow-wielding hunter, scanned the area.
She searched the bushes and trees for the white beast but saw not a single hair of it.
Some wild animals, particularly those living in remote or extreme realms, tend not to fear humans because they’ve never encountered the species before.
Take the emperor penguins from the northern snowy plains, for instance. They have no fear of humans and end up getting caught quite easily.
Maybe that white-furred beast from yesterday was one of those naive creatures.
Even if it wasn’t so oblivious, there are always beasts curious about this two-legged creature they’ve never seen before.
‘This is destiny! I could make a fortune!’
Aile realized that the hope she’d let slip away had come back to her, and she couldn’t help but cheer inwardly.
And it meant she absolutely couldn’t let this opportunity slip through her fingers.
━Ka-rururuk.
The sound echoed again, but this time it was even closer, signaling that the beast was closing the distance on their group.
“Looks like it’s trying to follow us.”
Batus glanced around.
His deep-set eyes squinted open slightly.
But it seemed like he couldn’t see anything either.
“It’s probably keeping its presence hidden. We only hear the sound, but I can’t feel anything.”
“I don’t sense anything either. Where could it be?”
Erik tilted his head, looking puzzled.
If Erik—a guy known for his sharp instincts—couldn’t pinpoint the animal’s location, then finding it wouldn’t be an easy task.
━Ka-rururuk.
The beast’s cry echoed periodically from the bushes.
“It continues to call out. It’s suppressing its presence while making that noise. Is it trying to lure us in?”
Leader Batus narrowed his eyes.
He soon concluded, “Best to ignore it.”
After walking for several minutes, the beast’s howls suddenly stopped.
‘Is it no longer chasing us?’
Aile felt a mix of unease and regret creeping in.
If it had followed them back to the investigation team’s campsite, she had planned to lure it in and capture it.
‘The Leader seems strangely passive about capturing rare species…’
She longed to hunt down the source of the vanished sound, but the Leader continued walking silently, seemingly free of concern for the wilderness.
As the top-ranking hunter, Batus likely had enough earnings and didn’t see the need to capture an undiscovered creature.
‘What do I do? If we keep going like this, we’ll lose it for good.’
Aile rolled her eyes in anxiety.
While she was scanning the bushes, Erik spoke up from the side.
“What’s wrong? Need to go to the bathroom or something?”
His cheeky grin was downright annoying.
Thinking of just ignoring him like usual, she turned her head the other way when, whoosh!
A tuft of white fur and ears peeked out from the leaves.
“L- Leader, look at that!”
“Yeah, I see it. Seems it followed us here.”
The Leader replied nonchalantly, but Aile couldn’t keep her cool.
She dropped the tail of the Glowing Dragon she was holding and rifled through her pockets.
“Hey, what are you planning?”
At Erik’s question, Aile put a finger to her lips. “Shh.”
After rummaging through her pockets for a while, Aile pulled out some dried jerky and waved it around.
“Now we have to catch it! Just think of the riches!”
“So your brilliant plan is to lure it with food? Not even a fool would fall for that…”
Whoosh.
━Ka-rururuk.
The white beast’s head popped out just enough to peek at Aile.
With its round face, she was certain it belonged to the same species as the one she saw yesterday.
“C-come here. It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.”
Aile calmed her racing heart and waved the meat in her hand back and forth.
The white beast tilted its head in sync with Aile’s movements, like a cat eyeing its snack.
“Oh my goodness! Luring it with dried jerky? I can’t believe such a ridiculous bait would actually work. It must be really dumb.”
Erik chuckled incredulously.
“It could be that it’s just not cautious and docile.”
“It’s a beast from the Ancient Nest! It can’t possibly be that gentle.”
Erik sounded half-sarcastic, but his eyes remained glued to the white beast.
He was just as tense as any of them.
A rare species—or perhaps an undiscovered creature.
If they could capture it, it could immediately elevate their rank as hunters.
Stuck at Silver Grade, Erik felt a flicker of vague hope that maybe this white fur could lead him to Gold Grade one day.
The beast, half-hidden by the bushes, cautiously approached with careful steps.
It now fully emerged from the foliage, inching closer to Aile and the others.
“C-come here… It’s nice… It’s delicious, really.”
Aile took a piece of jerky and held it up to her mouth.
As she mimicked chewing, the white beast let out a short squawk, tilting its head in curiosity.
“So cute.”
“It’s teasing us at this point. Can’t we just grab it? It’s practically come right up to us.”
“Erik, what if it bolts again if you try that? Just let me handle this. I’m good at making friends with animals.”
“Hmm.”
Erik took a few steps back.
In response, the white beast advanced a few steps closer.
Aile guessed it was wary of Erik.
Among animals, while they’re usually forgiving of women, they tend to be much more cautious around men who are often core hunters.
It was said that animals can distinguish human gender by their intelligence.
━Ka-rururuk.
As Erik shrank away, the beast finally approached Aile, who was crouched down.
Sniffing the jerky in her hand, it began nibbling at it bit by bit.
A shiver of accomplishment surged through Aile’s heart.
Inter-species communication! Even without words, they could share their feelings.
That was why she had become a hunter.
“T-tasty, right?”
Aile asked a question that would obviously go unanswered as she slowly reached out her other hand.
The white beast, still brimming with caution, let out a low growl, but Aile slowly moved her hand inches away from the white beast’s head.
“Y-yes!”
Aile finally placed her hand on the white beast’s head.
The softness and warmth felt even through her leather gloves warmed her heart immensely.
The feeling brought back memories of Hans, her puppy she had left back home.
Several years had passed, so he was likely all grown up now, just as big as the beast in front of her.
━Grrrr, grrrrr.
“Wow! It seems to feel good!”
It purred like a domestic cat, a pretty darn fascinating feat for an animal that had looked so aloof and prideful.
Aile, encouraged, moved her hand more boldly to scratch its chin and neck.
“Can I, may I touch it too?”
━Huff!
As Erik tried to approach, the growling beast bristled its fur.
Aile withdrew her hand from the creature and stopped Erik. “Don’t come any closer! We can’t let it run away again.”
“Geez. Why do you always hate me?”
Erik clicked his tongue and turned sharply away.
The white beast then nestled into Aile’s embrace.
Was it trying to get a hug? Or maybe just mark her with its scent? Whatever it was, it was clearly a sign of affection.
“Wow.”
Aile continuously pet the animal rubbing against her. If it was this friendly, maybe it could eventually be domesticated as a pet.
‘How much of a cut would I get from that?’
Hehe, just as Aile was dreaming about all the benefits, there came a sudden snapping sound, followed by her silver necklace tumbling onto the ground.
The white creature appeared interested in the necklace that had fallen and began nudging it with its claws and teeth.
“Hey! No! Without that, I can’t return to the Village!”
Aile reached down to grab the silver necklace, her identification as a hunter.
At that moment, the beast in her arms let out a loud roar.
“Wait, what?!”
It snatched the fallen necklace with its mouth and bolted into the underbrush in a flash.
Things happened so quickly that Aile couldn’t comprehend what just transpired.
“That’s smart! Looks like we got tricked instead! What are you doing? Hurry, catch it!”
*
‘They’re coming after me.’
I clutched the necklace in my mouth and sprinted at full speed.
The easiest method to hunt a group is to target the weakest-looking member.
In my eyes, the weakest link in this trio was the bow-wielding woman.
She had shown me kindness during our first encounter, so I figured I could create an opening.
I approached them while pretending to be a harmless animal, successfully easing their wariness.
After catching them off guard up close, I thought of making off with the tail; however, upon realizing how important this necklace was to them, I decided to change my plan.
‘I’ll lure them further.’
I dashed past the underbrush in a frenzy.
“Hey, stop there!”
A breathless lady’s voice echoed from behind me.
An arrow flew but was deflected by some tree trunks and never touched my body.
I quickly hid in some foliage I had scoped out beforehand.
The woman pursuing me soon charged through the bushes only to tumble to the ground with a loud crash.
“Ugh.”
She landed in a deep pit and let out a soft groan.
“What, what is this?”
The woman appeared bewildered as she realized she had stumbled into a hole hidden in the brush.
I couldn’t help but picture my own predicament from a few days ago.
This was a pit trap used by Leaf, and I had lured her right into that very trap hidden amongst the bushes.
“W-wait, did you just trap me? By an animal? How is that even possible…?”
She stared wide-eyed at the deep hole, not quite believing that she’d been outsmarted by a creature.
‘See, you can’t judge a book by its cover.’
I chortled and looked away.
“Hey, Aile! Did you catch it? What’s going on?”
I noticed two men approaching from a distance.
The dual-wielding Erik was rushing over, but the Leader strolled like he was out for a casual walk.
Yan-Mite’s tail was draped over the Leader’s shoulder like a fancy scarf.
‘How do I distract those two?’
I snuck back into the underbrush and concealed my presence again.
“I’m here! Help me! There’s a hole in the ground, so be careful!”
“What’s she talking about? A hole?”
The dual-wielding Erik broke through the brush and raced toward Aile.
“Wha—what’s going on?”
He seamlessly approached and, had he taken just one more step, he would’ve fallen into the pit as well; but thankfully, he was held back by Aile’s warning.
“What are you doing, Aile? A hunter just fell into a pit? You tellin’ me you got trapped? A hunter falling into a trap? Ha! You must be dumber than the animals.”
“W-wait, it was just an accident! Don’t mock me, just help me out, please!”
“You owe me big time for this! And I’ll make you repay that debt with an expensive meal. There’s this lovely viewpoint I know…”
“Just hurry up! That beast ran off with my ID! We have to catch it before it gets even further away!”
The woman trapped in the pit was now fuming.
She must have thought I had hidden instead of fleeing far away.
“Seriously? You made a mess and now you’re throwing a tantrum? Just wait. I’ll throw down a rope soon enough.”
Erik placed the spider he had slung across his back onto the ground and pulled out a thin rope from the pouch at his waist.
The moment he crouched down to start hammering the rope in,
I sneaked up quietly to his back.
“I almost want to draw a picture of this. Haha, what an idiot. It’s a good thing it’s daytime; he’d have been dinner for some beast had it been night time.”
It seemed Erik didn’t notice I was sneaking up right behind him.
I sprang up and tackled him from behind.
“Hey!?”
