We rode out of the kingdoms borders and into the wilds. This world never ceases to amaze me. The forest was full of lush greens and all sorts of colors that you could only stare dumbstruck at. From deep violets to bright yellows, every color on the color spectrum could be seen on one plant or another, it was simply stunning.
But although the forest seemed to be full of beauty and peacefulness, it was far from it. Many of the plants had some sort of defense mechanism that could prove deadly to almost anyone. And if the plant life wasn't enough to kill you, the wide variety of beasts certainly could.
That was not to say that I was worried. I had Naitsu point out what plants were safe and which were not, as well as describe some of the various beasts that populated the forest. I felt pretty confident that we would be able to handle them either solo or in very small groups.
We had travelled several hours into the forest before we took a break. Once we were done we would look for a place to take shelter for the night. Hopefully there was an unoccupied cave somewhere as that would be best.
"I'll head out and see if I can find anything." I told Naitsu, getting up.
"I'll go with you." she says and goes to stand.
I wave her to sit back down. "I got this, it can't be all that hard." I say and walk off.
I left her to take care of packing up all of our stuff to go and search for shelter. About half an hour later I found a large outcropping on the side of a large rock. Room enough to fit 3-4 people. And the sloped overhang of the rock would stop rain and would allow for any smoke from a fire to flow up and out instead of clogging up the air.
I went back to tell Naitsu I found a good spot, before I saw a large bear-like creature with stripes on its back walking towards the shelter I just found. It stopped, looked around, and then collapsed right under the overhang. Soon I could hear an even breathing coming from the creature.
'Son of a bitch just took my spot!' I screamed in my head. I found the spot fair and square and by god I was going to get it. No bear was going to stand in my way.
I took out a long dagger from my bag and slowly circled around to the back of the rock. I creeped up around the edge so as not to be seen if it woke up. I peeked around the edge, and there it was. Sleeping soundly, not knowing its' death was soon approaching.
Upon further inspection the bear was a bit smaller than an actual bear, and had an almost tiger like appearance to it as well. It was a Roc, a tiger/bear mix that was one of the most dangerous creatures in the forest.
I thought about whether or not I should get Naitsu to help, but ultimately decided against it. If I couldn't handle one creature on my own, who was I to be a king's candidate?
Slowly approaching the bear from the side, I made sure not to make any noise. I had mastered the art of shifting my balance effortlessly. So walking across simple dirt and grass with no sticks or leave was a walk in the park. I hid my presence as much as possible, and walked right up next to it.
The Roc's face was looking in the exact opposite direction that I was coming from, giving me a perfect view of the back of its neck. Taking a quick look over its shoulder to ensure it would not be waking anytime soon, I crouched down so my dagger was lined up perfectly with where it's jugular was supposed to be.
Using all the strength in my body I shoved it into the Roc's neck, but it wasn't enough. It entered, but just barely not enough to reach the jugular. I knew it had a thick skin and hide, just not this thick.
The Roc woke up with a roar. I pulled my dagger out as fast as I could. It was the only weapon I had, and I didn't know whether or not it would be enough in this fight. My only hope was that the wound in its neck was deep enough to have it bleed out. I would have to try and play the waiting game.
The Roc stood on its hind legs, towering over my 6 foot figure. If I had to guess, it was about 7 and a half feet tall. Its claws swaying anxiously by its side were what made me the most nervous. The smallest claw, attached to what would be the thumb, was 3 inches in length, and the longest claw being almost 8 inches.
Standing before this beast, I held little hope in beating it, but no creature was without weakness. While the Roc may be huge, menacing, and strong, it was not a fast creature. So if I could out maneuver it for long enough, then the wound I had inflicted would have caused the Roc to lose too much blood and die.
The Roc advanced, it was strong and not entirely slow, but not as fast as me. Dodging and weaving its massive claws I held off time. Every now and then slashing at it to keep it occupied with the fight and not with running off.
30 minutes had gone by, and it still showed no signs of letting up. I was getting tired, and if I couldn't keep up, things would turn bad.
Lost in my train of thought the Roc fainted a left swing, which I thought to be true as I was just coming out of my trance. But in the next instant the Roc's right paw slammed into my side. I felt several of my ribs cracking.
I spit out a large mouthful of blood as I was sent wheeling into a tree. I couldn't withstand another one of those hits. I used modify to fix my ribs as best as possible before dodging the beast again.
Resuming my dance I knew that I could no longer play the waiting game with a creature so large. I quickly ran and jumped up into a tree where it couldn't reach me. I jumped from tree to tree as it bashed one after another over.
After demolishing 20 or so trees, the Roc showed signs of fatigue. I quickly raced over to the tree at the far end of the rock, and started up my modify ability. Touching my dagger I was able to start using iron. I quickly used the largest branch on the tree to make several throwing knives.
After I placed the knives on my belt I ran to another tree, and waited for the Roc to approach. The Roc had lost too much blood, and it knew it. It's only option now was mutual death. With the last bit of its energy it charged at the tree I was resting on, but I would not give in so easily.
I took out two of the knives I had made, and threw them at its eyes. The Roc was too occupied with its mad dash to block, and therefore the knives pierced the eyes, destroying the retina. The Roc was blinded, and most likely in severe pain, but it still charged in the last direction it had seen me. Luckily I had already moved.
With a crash it barreled through the tree, finally coming to a stop and collapsing. I waited for 2 minutes before approaching the Roc, just to make sure it was really dead and wouldn't lunge at me.
Walking up to it, it really was dead. "I did it!" I yelled.
I was very excited, it was my first time beast hunting in this world, and the rush it gave me was amazing. I wondered what an actual fight with armies might be like.
Not soon after, Naitsu was rushing over to me. "Are you alright master?!" she questioned.
She looked at the Roc corpse and then at me, almost bewildered. If I had received any training that she knew of, it might not have been as shocking. But she knew little to nothing about me, so seeing me take down such a massive beast thoroughly shocked her.
With the Roc now dead, I tugged her over to the overhang and we set up camp for the night. We still had a long way to go to get to the Silver River kingdom.