Chapter 19 – Hunting
That morning, Bryn tried everything to accommodate the difference in status he learned from yesterday. He was getting closer, but he could tell that it was still not enough to impact his students as much as he wished. Be it the Martial Art or the mobility training, nothing he fought about was very intense for the three of them.
His efforts were not wasted, though. Amelia got the acrobatics skill on her first day, just like Daniel. Kwame was able to get climbing, but not acrobatics. Kwame was the happiest since he realized that his PIB was almost reaching the maximum level.
Indeed, Bryn's method was faster than others they had tried before. It took a few hours, but the benefit was clear.
At lunchtime, Kwame announced to the rest of the party that they would train with Bryn daily. It would create a few troubles on the calendar, but no one complained. Even the others who Kwame had rescued were invited to join.
By the afternoon, the only party members not as close to Bryn were Kaelar and Zara. All the others had decided they would also help Bryn develop his skills. Sword mastery would take up to 1–2 hours. Kwame would tell him about magic, but only the theory for now. Amelia would help with sparring, and Thrain decided he would teach the faun the blacksmithing ways.
By separating the day, they would alternate, and the caravan could keep moving. They limited the morning training to 2 hours, so the journey didn't have to adapt that much, and that was it.
Day after Day they trained, learned, and travelled together. It didn't take long for everyone to yearn for their next stop and create a training camp.
On the tenth day since Bryn became a teacher, Daniel called for him early in the morning.
"Bryn, how are you? Do you know what happened today?"
Laughing outward and letting out a sigh, he answered, "I'm good, and you? Let me guess, I'll have another full class?"
"Today you finally unlock sword mastery."
The loop of teaching the group a better understanding of physical abilities had accustomed Bryn to his new routine. He forgot that different skills had their specific criteria to be unlocked. His smile went from ear to ear as he jumped on Daniel's horse, short sword in hand.
"Where are we going?"
"That is the spirit! Today we are hunting rabbits."
"Is there a reason we are hunting rabbits, Mr. Daniel?"
"Of course, there is. They are a good match for your mobility, it will pose a challenge for you with your status but still allow you to use our training. They also don't hit back, so you can focus on attacking. And the most important part, I love eating them!!"
["This man is as easy to read as they come…"]
"Let's go."
After parting ways with the caravan, the two started to roam the forest. Daniel explained to Bryn how to identify signs and tracks to help with your hunt. Rabbits had very specific paws, so it was easy to distinguish them. Finding one was hard, though. They feared every other animal and had high agility status for low-level creatures.
After some guidance, Bryn finally found a prey.
"Good, now remember what I taught you. Consider his movements and try to predict and adapt to them. Do not strike where he is now, or you'll miss."
As a leopard approaching a gazelle, Bryn used all he learned about mobility to move without making a sound. Getting closer to the rabbit, he went in for the kill. His short sword stroked forward with all his might, but the bunny sidestepped when the bushes made a noise.
Exchanging glances, Bryn and the rabbit knew the situation they were in. Without a second thought, the rabbit used all his agility to run as far as he could. Bryn on the other hand, started to run after his prey and think of ways that he could control the animal's path. If he could control where the rabbit went, he could prepare a second attack.
Easier said than done.
After a few minutes of chasing the small, fluffy enemy, he gave up and went back to Daniel's side.
"I told you to attack where it would be, not to run after them… Did you just try to outrun a rabbit at level 1?"
"…" Bryn had no words to answer.
"Follow my lead."
As Daniel started to move, they soon found another opportunity. This time, Daniel showed him the hope. Knowing that in a single strike he could win, all Daniel had to do was scare the rabbit from one side and attack on the other. It was a perfect strike, but the technique was simple enough.
They stored the animal in a bag and went for the next one.
Bryn was able to strike it with his sword, but it was not a direct hit. The rabbit got a flesh wound and was able to escape his grasp. Considering that the creature would not survive with that wound, Daniel used his superiority over both and took another rabbit in the bag.
"The third try is the charm," said Bryn as he tracked another animal.
This time he did it! Using all his focus, he was able to finally hunt his first prey. The feeling of striking flesh with his sword was not what he expected. Doing it while butchering or cooking a barbecue on earth was one thing, killing a living animal was another. He was not sure how to feel about that, but his attention was taken by his favorite sound in the new world, a notification.
– Skill Acquired –
One-Handed Sword Mastery - Beginner LVL. 1 (99%)
The skill was one of those with vague descriptions again, but that didn't discourage Bryn, quite the opposite.
After unlocking the skill, the next rabbit was much easier to hunt. His movements became more precise and fluid. It was as if the sword had started to fuse with his body.
The group of 14 needed a lot of protein to complement the grains bought. The next few rabbits were all hunted by Bryn under Daniel's supervision.
The next hours were dedicated to perfecting his techniques and tactics. Every time a track was found, his heart beat stronger. Blood filled his muscles, his eyes widened as his pupils constricted. The rush of finding the animal was a feeling he had never felt before. Daniel also fixated on the faun, his smile getting bigger and bigger. From his perspective, the kid was a natural.
Rabbits were easy prey for higher-level individuals since their status as a creature was the lowest of the low. But for level ones, they were hard to get.
At the end of their hunt, Bryn's sword mastery had skyrocketed to the end of level 3.
Bryn: ["I'm sure that skill proficiency was capped at 99% of level one, otherwise I wouldn't be able to level up 2 times in a single day…"]
Daniel decided that their training would be composed of a hunt every start of a week, that way Bryn would start using his practice from the remaining days.
The two went back to the caravan, both with heads held high and chest puffed.
For the faun, he was finally able to develop a skill that directly relates to the power he so desperately craved. The man on the other hand felt the joy of seeing a pupil evolving.
As the two reached the caravan, the day was almost over already and because of it, they didn't train as a group today.
Daniel gave all the game they had caught to Bryn, so he could butcher it with the cooks and store it. Meanwhile, he went to Kwame's tent.
"Kwame, we need to talk." Said Daniel.
"Come on in. "
Daniel slowly crossed the curtain door only to see Kwame sitting down. The man had his eyes closed but
"Kwame, who is that faun?"
"What are you asking? You know him for as long as I do."
Looking Kwame close in the eye, Daniel reached his hands above the table Kwame was working on.
"What are you hiding from us?..."
Avoiding Daniel's grasp, he walked out of the table to the wine stand and started to pour both a glass.
"You are paranoid, my friend. Even If I was leading you on. Do you honestly believe I would harm our party?"
"That does not mean I like being played…"
"Could you explain to me what is making you so alert?" As an olive branch for his friend dropping the subject, he offered him the wine cup.
"Today we went out hunting. Fauns are weaker in status than the other races, but you saw his status as a level 1, he is almost as strong as a level 3 faun… Anyway, during our hunt, it took him only 3 times to succeed against the rabbits. After that, no single rabbit was able to escape his grasp."
Kwame burst out laughing, "Hahah, You realize you are complimenting him for hunting rabbit right? What is so incredible about that?"
"I wouldn't if that is all he did. We went hunting one Kwame… And his sword skill is already level 3, reaching level 4. How is that possibly?"
Kwame cup was reaching his mouth as it stopped for a second. Controlling his reaction as best as he could, he took a sip of his drink.
"The heavens are strange sometimes. And on top of that, you had trained him for a long time before. I wouldn't put that much thought into it. Also, weren't you who wanted him to become strong?"
While the two talked, the fire had already started at the center of the camp. After minutes of butchering and seasoning the rabbits, the meat went to the fire.
The rabbits started to sizzle over the flames as the aroma of roasting meat wafted through the camp. The scent carried by a gentle breeze caught the attention of the different people at the camp as they surrounded the fire.
Thrain and Kaelar noticed that neither Kwame nor Daniel were there, so each went for a tent. Upon arriving, Kaelar heard both talking.
The nagamen had never seen his companion as interested as he was with this kid. Curiosity is a vile mistress, like an itch you do not want to scratch, it consumes your attention until it is all you can think about.
Standing up and reaching for his weapon, Kwame yells, "Who is there?" as the nagamen entered the room without warning.
"Kaelar, what are you doing here?"
"I came to invite you both to dinner, it is almost ready."
"Thank you, we'll be right out." Said Daniel, while pointing his cup at the entrance as he walked in between Kaelar and Kwame.
"I would like to ask you something, Daniel."
"What is it?"
"I heard you talking about Bryn's ability... Do you think he can learn other styles as fast as that?"
"How am I supposed to know that?" Rolling his eyes upwards, Daniel exclaimed.
"Never mind, I'll be on my way then." Said the nagamen as he lowered his head and started to turn back outside.
Hearing the words exchanged by his party members, one of Kwame's eyebrows raised.
"Wait a moment, Kaelar. I believe had an interesting proposition you were considering, please elaborate."
"As you know, my lineage of nagamen is down to our last few members. During the last human incursion, all the women in my tribe were killed. It became impossible for me to extend my lineage with heirs. Still, I wished for some of our teachings to live on… I'm considering trying to teach Bryn one of our race skills, though I'm not sure if he is going to be able to learn it yet."
Daniel's eyes opened wide to what he heard. Like individual skills, Race or legacy skills were the ones that started as individual skills and were passed on from generation to generation. Some were easy to teach, others not so much. A human couldn't learn dragons' breath, it is a race skill more DNA-related. But some were variations of regular skills with a twist. Teaching something as important as that was as close to recognizing someone as a pupil or a son as possible.
"Kaelar, you do like the faun. You are a softy under that scaly skin of yours." Said Daniel.
"I never said I disliked him, I just believed that the faun had no chance of overcoming his race's characteristics of having 20% fewer status points than any other out there. But you praised him so much that he is growing on me."
"That is amazing Kaelar, you have my blessing. But please wait for us to reach our next stop, He's already engaged in too much training, any more and the kid might lose himself."
"No problem Kwame, let me know when it is fine. Thank you. Also, the dinner is probably ready, you two should go as well." Said Kaelar as he turned and left the tent.
"I still do not trust that snake…"
"You trust no one, Daniel, THAT is your problem." Holding his friend by the shoulders.
"Come, let's eat!"