A group of Hunters was chasing down a snow fox in the Tundra. It was a Rank Two, but in size wise it was comparable to a regular fox. Its speed however approached Rank Three, and catching it proved to be difficult.
"Forget it, we will go for something a bit easier to catch. Sorry Julie we will get you that new scarf later." One of the men told their female companion.
The five hunters were roughly in their twenties and all of them were at Rank Two. It was unusual to see people so young and so talented in this frozen hell, and yet it was becoming a recurring assurance in recent days.
More and more rankers took up the profession of Hunter, and most of them took off for the Danger Zones. Hunting within the borders of a nation was possible, but it required a license, and if they had that kind of money, they wouldn't be risking their lives out in the wilds.
For now, the most profitable, at least of the legal bounties, were the hunts that would secure them large quantities of meat. The problem lay that the Danger Zones were labeled as such for a reason. Without humanity to regulate them, it wasn't so convenient that the most dangerous of predators only stayed in their designated areas.
Except right next to the strongholds and a little bit of their surrounding area, everywhere else was fair game. One could be hunting a Rank Two fox, only to stumble on a hungry Rank Nine Lion.
The area had been opened for a week, and as of now, there were more than a hundred thousand casualties. Most of them were from the idiots who came to this place as Rank Ones, hoping to make a fortune, only to be met with tragedy. The rest were hunted by bounty hunters.
As it so happened, criminals were also interested in the Hunt. They could trade in meat for a reduction of their sentence, or if the hull was big enough, a complete pardon.
In only a week, with barely anyone straying far from the protected zones, countless individuals had hit the jackpot. Previous paupers were now walking out of the frozen hell as rich men and women. But money wasn't the only thing one could get out of this place, there was also influence.
Every year mortals died by the bucket out of starvation. If someone was able to prevent that, they would become a hero to the common folk and a force to be reckoned with in court. Every official had hired hunters to do their bidding. Some even tried to make the army do their dirty work, but those individuals were hanged with no questions asked.
The Army was already overworked because they had to keep all the idiots in check, and the use of lethal force was frowned upon. Many of the soldiers would curse the name of their tormentor, only to be chastised by those who had mortal family members.
Ciaran Clades had become a person of great interest, but no one had seen or heard anything from him ever since the Great Hunt had begun. It was understandable tho, as he held a bounty close to that of a Rank Five beast while he was known to only be a Rank Zero Novice by his academic records.
Few believed his strength to be that low, but no one thought he would have exceeded the offered bounty.
The price on his head was illegal of course, but there was nothing the soldiers could do about it. Their instructions were to let everybody pass into the Tundra, and only to inspect the ones who would return.
"A whole week out here, and we still have yet to secure a single kill. Why are you being so cautious about this Diana, let's go waste some fools." Ciaran, the boy in question, was bored out of his mind.
They had entered the area and had even hunted every day, but their prey was capped at Rank Three.
Now and again there were some exciting moments, like when he saw a group of hunters being swallowed whole by a Rank Four snake. But other than that, most of his time was spent eating cooking, and practicing magic. Not that he didn't like those things, but the boy wanted to do something more exciting.
"How about you hunt down a Rank Three by yourself this time? I will just stay back and relax while you do all the work. That exciting enough for you?" Diana sneered in his direction.
She had calmed down after a week. In the beginning, she barely slept, fearing that someone would come to claim the boy's life while she wasn't looking. Now, however, she had seen those 'professional killers', and her nerves had eased up.
Some were the real deal and could kill even her if she wasn't careful, but most were nothing but a joke. Sure some of them were Rank Three, and even Rank Four, but so was she, and she was by far not a regular Warrior.
The boy nodded excitedly, he wanted to finally have his first kill, but a Rank Three hunt would also be exciting.
She would rather they chose an easy target, but he bargained his way into convincing her to leave it up to fate.
The first Rank Three they found was a sabertooth tiger. It was as large as a horse, but there was no trace of fat anywhere on its body, it was an apex predator, and if it was just one rank higher, it may even have given Diana some trouble.
"No! I take it back, it's too much for you to kill this thing alone." She said, but he just smiled at her.
They had an understanding between them, no lies, and all trust. If she promised to let him try his luck on the first Rank Three they found, she would have to follow through to the end.
He jumped up in the trees counseling his presence. The gear his Master had made for him was extraordinary, but it was purposefully limited by his own abilities. It enchanted his stealth and his durability by a percentage, meaning the suit would scale with the boy's competence.
Sadly for the tiger, he was more than just a little capable in stealth. The boy was able to drop right down on its head and struck at the tiger's eye with his new toys.
Eleftherios made his armor but Verdania made his weapons, a pair of katars. She made them light and durable. But the best part was that they could be easily infused with essence, and she marked them with pathways that would lead from the boy's hand all the way to the edges of the blade, and the tip.
Now all Ciaran had to do was cut someone to administer a poison of his own choosing.
He used his Wind to propel himself at the tiger and stabbed it right in the eye. Sadly the animal had closed its eyelid in time, and there wasn't even a scratch on it.
" Plan B then." He said with a grin, and the Wind started gathering around the boy. Then he channeled it in his katar and a projectile was fired. This time it did more than just piece the tiger's eyelid, it took out its whole eye and a part of its skull.
Ciaran Shifted out of harm's way, but the tiger was on his trail. The thing had an Earth aspect and was more than just durable it was borderline unkillable for its rank. Even with a part of its skull gone It chased the boy at full speed.'
"All right, let's try you next." He whispered right atop a river. The very next second the enraged tiger's fangs were a breath away from his neck.
"Freeze for me please." He asked politely and the tiger froze.
"Thank you, I always knew you cared." He bowed to the lake. With a fully matured, rough husky voice, his antics had lost most of their charm.
The water was still and didn't intend to dignify the boy's tomfoolery with an answer, but the Wind howled with joy.
The boy got away and ran to Diana.
"I failed, please kill it." He said, and at the next moment, the tiger had caused tremors all around it. It no longer cared; it wanted the boy dead, no matter the cost. It was a creature full of pride, and it just got played with and humiliated.
Thanks to the vibrations caused by its rampage, it felt the boy and charged straight at him. It was done playing.
"This time you die insect." It even yelled out.
Before it even knew it, it died. Diana simply sliced it into a thousand pieces to be sure.
"Are you done now? Can we get back to hunting normally or do you want to mess around some more?" She teased him.
The surrounding hunters saw this scene, and once again were reminded, that there were a lot of monsters in this place. Some of them wore shining armor and stood tall on two legs.