Buck put his hand in the whole from removing the plank and searched around, all he felt was some dust and the cold hardwood but his fingers then graced over a different surface
He grabbed it with his fingers and felt it scrunch up and that's all he needed to know its a piece of paper
He took it out of the whole and stood up unfolding the paper to reveal a map with a red x on it, although buck hadn't tried to read a map before he thought it was pretty simple he saw where he was on a cottage drawn on the map and a trail from the cottage leading to a forest close by
Buck at this moment knew that he now was in the hunter exam as why else would there be a map in this sort of place, an abandoned cottage.
He left the cottage and found the path running towards the forest using the map and began to walk down it
He kept his guard up for any unexpected attack coming from the foliage of the bushes while constantly scanning the ground for any semblance of a trial left by the hunter examiners to follow
Though he was following the map a big ambiguous red x to mark the spot leaves out a lot of information like what he's looking for or what's being tested in this stage
After all, it is the hunter exam they must be testing something, earlier they were testing his ability to spot the minute details left and to solve the puzzle, so bucks reasoning ability
This time Buck thought that they might be testing his ability to locate or secure items 'They might set a trap around the cross or on the trail to it so I have to be careful and they're might the enemies in the woods waiting to strike when I lower my guard, I can't suspect much when I'm not that familiar with past tests or the knowledge of this world but if I remain careful I should be ok.' Buck thought as he continued to peer at the dirt looking for any boobytraps and checking his surroundings for any signs of rustling in the bushes
He came closer to the red x on the map and his guard increased even more, but this time it wasn't just suspicion and guesses he knew for real that there is something else in the woods beside him
As he got closer he began to hear more rustling in the bushes, he heard something passing by fast in the bushes and felt a pair of eyes watching him from the shadows
"Who is there, are you the hunter examiner?" Buck shouted out but received no reply other than the rustling of the bushes
"Haha, I see how it is now," Buck replied while sprinting towards the bushes intent on finding who was following and watching him.
As he dashed inwards the bushes scraped against his skin but he didn't mind and pushed on towards where he heard the last rustle and what he came upon was an injured man in the woods
What he saw was an unconscious man with blood splashed all over, he thought that the scene before him was highly suspicious, and his gut told him that something was amiss. He couldn't ignore the feeling that this could be a trap and that he might be walking into a dangerous situation.
Despite his reservations, Buck found it challenging to suppress his need to help the man in front of him. He was a kind-hearted soul who had always gone out of his way to help others. He knew that if he left the man there, bleeding and injured, there was a good chance that he would not survive.
Buck decided to approach the man, cautiously keeping an eye out for any signs of danger. He examined the man's injuries and realized that the bleeding was not as severe as he had initially thought but there were three long cuts along the man's chest. The man was conscious and able to speak.
"Are you ok, what did this to you, what kind of animal was it" Buck questioned while constantly looking around for anything in the bushes
"I don't know it came so fast and the next second I blacked out and woke up in a daze, thank god for you appearing and saving me, I wouldn't know what to do otherwise."
After hearing the man's story Buck couldn't help but be more suspicious of the man, there was no blood trail, the wound wasn't deep and he was in a clearing so he should have seen something that came at him, Buck squinted his eyes and began to question the man more
"what's your name sir?" Buck said while standing up leaving him lying on the ground
"Im Kibo, thank you for helping me…" the man said while trying to stand up
Buck was torn between his desire to help the man and his instincts to protect himself. He knew that he had to make a decision quickly, as he could be attacked any second by this man or the thing that was out there in the woods but it seemed far too suspicious and the behaviour of the man just didn't seem right with Buck he seemed far too calm, this lead buck to one conclusion this was a test for him, the map was to see if he would leave the man for the test or a supposed treasure and if he would help the man, but Buck still couldn't place why there was so much rustling but he couldn't spot anyone, someone had to be watching him and he knew it
'The rustling had to be them watching me but that rustling has disappeared now and there's only this man, so whoever was watching me has disappeared meaning that this man is also here to watch me so there's no need for a second person, or they could both be the same person this man, either way, he's here to test me, but test me on what my compassion, character, reasoning or combat?
"Buck, it's my pleasure I couldn't leave someone injured alone in this forest, though I may be regretting it now," Buck said as he went to kick the man in his side.