Ever since I became 5 years old, I always wanted to help society out by killing monsters. I thought it would be cool for a hunter to pull out their swords and slash off goblin heads in front of the village. The monsters were super annoying and always tried to kill people for no reason. At the time I didn't understand why, I just thought they were evil.
I wanted to be a powerful hunter who used the best techniques and killed all the monsters. I know that isn't very realistic now, but I seemed to be very optimistic at the time. I only learned one sword martial art called Zendu and an archery technique called... Well I don't remember exactly what it is, but I do know that it had a cool name like Zendu. I'm not going to go into detail about how they work because that's boring, all I'm going to say is that they are what my mother used and they are extremely powerful.
My dad is a farmer who always told me I don't have to do dangerous stuff to make a living. I didn't know, until much later, why he said that. I studied swordsmanship and archery all my life and became really super good. I hadn't performed anything spectacular at the time so I wasn't noticed by famous hunters, but I knew a time would come.
When I proclaimed myself an expert of both arts I was about 7. I obviously didn't have any skill in the arts, but it was a good start. I exercised by helping out with the farm. My father was growing older and he was training me to take over the farm. I wasn't interested in taking over the farm and I told my daddy this. He was disappointed, but he would let me sell it after he died if I proved to become a great hunter. That day I made it my destiny(again) to become a powerful hunter so I wouldn't have to take care of this lousy farm.
I was about ten when I started going to school. School was boring and all learnt was useless stuff like history. I already know history. Humans fought monsters and monsters fought humans as well. I think there were other things going on, but I know I would never need to know them. I know history it like the back of my hand or the tip of my finger.
Now school wasn't all that boring, when I turned 13 we actually started learning about the anatomy of different monsters. It was cool and gross because we had to dissect this weird frog that wasn't even a frog because it had three eyes two tongues and rubbery hands. We also had classes in sword mastery, blacksmithing, archery, skills, and other stuff. We learned about the different roles of hunters, soldiers, adventurers, merchants, and churches. The last one didn't fit with the rest, but they were important to the priest.
I was almost the top in almost all my classes(history teacher is a jerk) and I only lost to these rich kids from these promising families that weren't farmers(no offense dad). Overall I learned about the importance of killing monsters and why I should be a hunter.
In my own time I practiced my sword skills and archery until they were beyond mastery(my opinion) and I looked in to skills. I wasn't born with the ability to be good at using energy, but I was still able to use the internal energy which is… Nevermind I forgot what it was called, but I'll remember later.
I was really talented at using internal energy not as talented as actual talented people. Only one-tenth as talented as I believed I was. I believed I was really good so I guess I am really good if that makes sense. The rank of how well you were at using internal energy were ten levels beginning with zero. Zero meaning you can't use it at all and ten meaning you can use another person's.
I've never seen it in action, but powerful level ten internalist can use another person's internal energy from as far as 10 kilometers. It is not stable and only a few can do it, but I believe it is still awesome.
When I turned sixteen I was considered an adult and my dad didn't feed me anymore. It wasn't because he was mean it was because I could make food on my own. I had my own responsibilities now and had to start making money.
The only things my father provided me with was a basic sword and bow. I had level 1 armor and fifteen arrows. This was enough for me at the time because I knew two fighting techniques.
In order to become a hunter I have to pass the Hunter Trials. I think that is what it's called. If it isn't called that I'll still continue to call it that. Anyway, the hunter trials were a few challenges set up to see if you were qualified.
Step 1: Proof of Strength
The people in charge of the Hunters Association will give you test in strength. Not only will they test you on how well you are physically, they will also test you on how well you are mentally.
For the physical tests they have you lift weights of 150 kilograms repeatedly until you tire. I did it about 25 times before I started to slow down and 68 times in total. You'll also have to run a few kilometers(3) that formed a circle and they'll decide based on your completion speed of the circle. I finished in about 3.5 minutes. Our scores in these test aren't compared, but there was a really tall strong dude who did everything ten times better than me. I wasn't jealous. I was inspired.
For the mental test they see how well you know your monsters and the anatomy you were suppose to learn in school. They also give you a list of things to read and you have to repeat it all back to whoever is testing you in order without the list. They use this to test your short term memory. I did perfect on the first one, but I only remembered six of the one hundred something words.
Just like the first test there was someone who surpassed me by a lot. They wore glasses and had short hair. They looked muscular, but not bulging all over. They had more of a smart look. What they look like isn't important, their score on the list was 95 and that was because of a small slip-up. They got the rest of the words perfect and it was like they copied the words into their glasses and was just reading them off…
Step 2: Proof of Patience
This test was different from all the other test. All of us hunter candidates who were going through the tests around the same time were to sit in the room to wait for a meal to be prepared. The room was lit using candles and lanterns, so it was really hard to tell the time using the light.
We sat in the room for who knows how long and a few people left because they were bored or something. Some said they had family matters to tend to. I sat there the whole time awake excited to find out what we were going to be eating. It was free and it was going to be my first meal that day so I couldn't afford to leave neither did I want to.
I would've been talking to the other people, but I was also told to stay quiet. After what felt like eternity of not being able to study monsters, the door opened. They brought in trays of cakes, meat, chocolate, cakes, and other stuff that are edible. I only payed attention to the cakes so if you want to know about what other food was there you'd have to ask someone else.
After we finished eating we each received a top-class book about monsters. I finished it pretty quickly and I already knew everything in the book, but I kept it as a souvenir.
Step 3: Proof of Hunt
The test is pretty self-explanatory, but I'll tell you what happened because it's pretty important. This is the step that changed my life, but that happens later. We were tasked with finding and killing a monster and bringing back the body part of proof(left ear, a tooth, core, etc.). We were sent into the Quaking Plains that is filled with low-level monsters for hunter newbies. We were given a dissembling kit to help get the body part of proof before we were sent off.
I was so excited. Words couldn't express my happiness. Except for the words that I'm already using. I was going to be killing my first monster, something I dreamed of ever since I saw a goblin beheaded in front of our village when I was a little boy. I always wanted to know the feeling of cutting through the nasty flesh of a goblin. I wanted to hear the cracks of bones when I smash a skeleton's head. Don't think wrong of me. I'm a good person, really. I just wanted to kill stuff because I thought it was cool.
I practiced my stealth on the way by hiding my presence from the other hunter candidates. Some noticed me though but that's why I was practicing. When we got to the Quaking Plains all I could do was feel the tingles of happiness. I guess that's a nice way of describing it. We had to travel quite far, but it was worth it. The first monster we encountered was an unhostile Deertalope. They were tall and fast and people usually resorted to archery in order to kill them. These monsters were basically harmless wildlife, so it would be an easy kill. I pulled out my bow and aimed at it. I was about to shoot when I recognized it was already dead.
I was disappointed, but it made sense that someone else would kill it first. We all traveled together and arrived as a group. Everyone else had a chance to kill it; I just wasn't fast enough. I didn't let my spirits go down and continued being optimistic.
I continued looking for monsters and came across more Deertalope that were in a group. I excitedly raised my bow again and prepared to shoot. I missed. I hit the Deertalope, but it was tougher than I thought.
It didn't die and the whole group ran away. Maybe I just had to find a slower creature that could be attacked head on. There were Wolivaars that also live in this plain. Wolivaars were creatures that were big and furry, but had no claws. These monsters would be ranked extremely powerful if they had claws, but they do not. They have sharp teeth, however they barely use them.
I had just happened to come across a lone Wolivaar that was quite small. The monster didn't recognize me because I was hiding my presence and I was able to sneak up on it. I pulled out my sword and got ready to strike. That was my mistake.
I should've had my sword prepared ahead of time and the unsheathing made too much noise. The Wolivaar quickly turned around and swang its paw toward me. I tried to block, but it was strong enough to knock me down. I quickly stood up and stood in my Zendu stance. I used a series of Zendu slashes and quickly injured the beast. I was raising my sword to do the finishing blow when-
WOOSH!
An arrow flew right into the Wolivaars head.
"Are you all right?"
I heard the question come from a distance. Glasses. It was the guy who did exceptionally well on the memory test. I thought he was a nice guy, but he's a jerk who just stole my kill.
"I'M TRYING TO KILL SOMETHING LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" I yelled out as loud as I could.
The man just walked over with a smile and looked at me.
"You won't always be able to tell someone that in the future." he said that while pushing up his glasses and trying to be cool.
"STOP TRYING TO TEACH ME ABOUT LIFE I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT CRAP. I JUST WANT TO KILL A MONSTER." This time I was louder and right in his ear. He seemed annoyed, but like a gentlemen he ignored it. He went over and started dissembling the Wolivaar.
I was ticked off. That was the second time it happened and I was starting to become really upset. I started wandering away as far as I could from the other people while staying inside of the plains. I came across a pond with no monsters or people and sat down to take a break. I pulled out my lunch from my bag. The contents of my lunch aren't important, but it tasted really good.
…
I had to bring back a body part of proof by the end of the day. I decided to wait until the amount of people began to clear up. While I was eating I heard a noise from the pond. I quickly threw down my food and grabbed my sword. I looked a the water to see a bubble, that was quite big, rising to the top of the water. The water bubble began to float towards the land and it came out of the water.
I studied the water bubble and recognized it had three holes in it that resembled eyes and a mouth. It didn't look scary or threatening , but I could tell that it was a monster.
A slime to be exact.
I didn't learn about slime anatomy or their lifestyle. All I knew was that they are found near water and in dark areas like dungeons or caves. I heard they were easy or tricky to kill depending on what you attempted. The slime didn't have a monster core and was sitting there bubbling up for some reason. Then a ball of slime shot towards me. I quickly moved out of the way and it landed on my lunch. Nothing happened to my lunch and it looked as if water was poured on it.
Finally a monster that I could kill. The slime was weak and I didn't need to worry about someone taking it from me or it trying to run away. I walked towards it and gave it a Zendu slash with my sword. The slime split into two parts and soaked into the ground.
"Ah!"
I couldn't help, but express my excitement from killing my first monster. No it wasn't that. The feeling of my sword slicing through the slime felt nice. It wasn't tough, but it showed a slight resistance. It was a well organize splash when it soaked into the ground and there was no loud roar of pain to interrupt the sensation. It was way more fun than slicing the Wolivaar.
I was hoping to myself that many more slimes were going to come out of the pond. And they did! I would've spent all day killing them if I didn't have to bring back a body part of proof. I used a bottle of the slime liquids and got my hunters permit. I went back out the second I was clear to kill more slimes. I spent the next few years of my life killing slimes. Only slimes.