The veteran collectors entered the camp and looked around at the mess caused by the fight between the mutated bear and the group.
"You had a pretty good time, it seems," a man said, walking out from the veteran collectors in a joking manner.
"Yeah, a really good time, though it lasted only a few minutes. If it had lasted any longer, one or two of us might have ended up dead," Geld said, gritting his teeth from the pain in his leg, which was being treated by a woman a few years older than him.
"So where is it then?" Another man spoke from the veterans, seemingly in doubt.
"Oh, it's right there next to you, below those branches and leaves on the ground," Hob said, walking forward confidently.
Hob approached the edge of the branches, crouched down, and pulled a barely visible vine from the ground. The branches all gathered in the same place and were pulled away by Hob.
Soon, a huge pit 4 meters deep was visible to everyone. Its shape was a little irregular but surprisingly smooth, and inside it was the headless corpse of a mutated bear.
The veterans gasped at the sight. "Y-You hunted that thing?" one of them asked in a voice full of disbelief.
"Of course, we hunted it. Do you see anyone else who could have done it except us?" Geld said arrogantly.
"It can't be. That's a mutated bear, and even if it's not fully mature, its height is already at 2.5 meters. How could you rookies hunt it?" the thin and frail-looking man asked.
"Sigh... I knew no one would believe us. That's why this should be enough proof, right?" Hob said, taking out the bloodied head of the mutated bear with two gaping holes in its eyes.
"That is enough," the agile and tall woman said in a loud voice. "We should respect those who complete their hunt, especially against an adversity as strong as this. All of you, introduce yourselves to them this instant and start your work."
Then the woman came forward and introduced herself. "My name is Rory. I am the captain of the veteran collector squad. Pleased to meet you."
"Likewise. My name is Hob. This is Friz, Amy, and Geld. We're also pleased to meet you all," Hob said, introducing the group.
"My name is Jill. Pleased to meet you all," the man who joked at the beginning introduced himself.
"I am Lesi. Pleased to meet you all," the woman treating Geld's leg said next.
"You can call me Arun," the doubtful man said, stroking his chin.
Soon, everyone else followed suit and introduced themselves one by one.
After the introductions, Rory came towards the group and asked in a concerned voice, "What do you guys plan to do now? Will you retreat or continue the hunt?"
"Of course, we're going to continue the hunt. We haven't hunted two targets yet. This bear will only be enough for two of us to survive. So we'll hunt one more adversity before retreating," Hob said, refusing to retreat.
"Although Geld is injured, it isn't to the extent that he can't move. It'll be just enough to complete the hunt," Hob thought to himself.
"He's right. We're going to complete the hunt and survive together to the end," Friz said, agreeing with Hob.
Amy and Geld also nodded with determination in their eyes.
Rory looked at them for a while, then sighed. "Alright, you guys only have one day left to complete the hunt, right? So we'll stay here until you complete your hunt. It would be a bother to go back and forth to the same place anyway."
With that, the veterans took the corpse of the mutated bear out of the pit and started to dissect and store it in different containers so that it wouldn't rot. They also helped repair the defenses of the camp and made room for themselves to stay some distance away from Hob's group in the clearing.
After some rest, Hob said to the others, "We don't have much time. We need to finish the hunt tonight. Let's move out in a bit."
Amy and Friz nodded grimly, and Geld gave him a thumbs up, suggesting that he was fine now.
After some time, the four of them moved out of the camp, leaving it in the veterans' care. They also took four makeshift spears each in case they were needed. Hob lent his shield to Geld, who was unable to run fast due to his leg injury, and took the bolas (rope throwing weapon) from Geld for his own use.
They followed the map to the place they had marked on the first day and found that the mutated deer had left, but there were many tracks on the ground and they looked fresh, so the deer couldn't be that far away.
Hob signaled to Amy, and she swiftly climbed up a tree and spotted a few scattered deer in the vicinity. Amy climbed down and reported her discovery.
"There are two of them to the west. I suggest that one of us circles around them and startles them into running our way, and then we'll ambush them," Amy suggested, looking around carefully.
"I think Amy's plan sounds good. Hob, I think you should go to the other side. We'll set up an ambush in the meantime," Friz suggested, contemplating the success rate.
"Alright, I'll go to the other side then. Wait till I give the signal from there and set up the traps until then, fast," Hob said and moved north, intending to circle around the mutated deer.
As Hob moved, he kept a keen eye on his surroundings, making sure to move with as little noise as possible. He had to take a few detours because of some troublesome monsters in the way. After walking for over an hour, Hob finally reached the other side of the mutated deer.
On the other side, Amy was standing atop a tree, keeping a keen eye on the mutated deer and Hob, making sure everything was according to plan. Friz helped Geld with collecting some vines and branches from the nearby trees and assembled them with Geld while Geld himself was preparing traps to deal with the mutated deer. After around half an hour, Geld was done, and they were now waiting for Hob's signal.
After around an hour since Hob set off, he gave a thumbs up in the direction of Amy, signaling that he would begin now. Amy passed down the message to the other two.
Seconds passed in a tense atmosphere, and Hob jumped out of his hiding spot and appeared in front of the two mutated deer. Seeing the human, the mutated deer were startled. One of them ran in the opposite direction of Hob, while the other charged straight at him, hoping to pierce him with its long antlers.
"Crap," Hob cursed at his luck and tried to move back, but the mutated deer was much faster than he had anticipated. It reached Hob in just a few seconds. In a moment of desperation, Hob threw Geld's bolas towards the mutated deer, hoping for the best, and out of sheer luck, the bolas ended up entangling one of its front feet with one of its back feet. But it was too late for Hob. The mutated deer lost its balance and crashed into Hob at a frightening speed. Thankfully, the antlers only grazed his shoulders, scratching them but not causing much damage.
"It hurts," Hob cursed but was already getting up to his feet. The mutated deer was also trying to do the same but was failing miserably. Hob did not waste any time and brought his flail (chained morning star) down on its throat, crushing it in one swift blow.
On the other side, Amy saw one of the mutated deer coming her way and signaled to Friz and Geld, who were hiding below. But then her eyes fell on the other mutated deer, which was heading straight towards Hob, and her heart skipped a beat. "Don't die, please," she muttered to herself.
Below the tree Amy was in, the mutated deer dashed through the trees towards them. As soon as it passed below the tree, it tripped on a vine and a makeshift spear was propelled its way from the side. It managed to dodge that spear but ended up triggering another trap, setting off a chain reaction. After a few seconds, the mutated deer was finally pierced by one of the spears but still tried to run away. But Geld, with the shield he received from Hob, appeared in front of it and bashed the shield on its head, making the mutated deer dizzy. Friz followed from behind the mutated deer and fired a few well-aimed darts, causing the mutated deer to collapse in a few seconds.
Friz quickly went forward and collected the darts, cutting off some meat around the entry points so that the poison wouldn't spread to the whole deer.
"How's Hob doing?" Friz asked with concern.
"That bastard actually took it down alone," Amy said, celebrating the fact that their ally was alive.
Friz and Geld heaved a sigh of relief and left the mutated deer they hunted in Amy's care. Amy fired a signal flare to call for the veteran collectors unit again, and they both made their way towards Hob, who was still a little shaken and sitting on the ground, staring at the mutated deer while taking deep breaths.
"Now, don't tell me you're scared of the hunt," Friz said teasingly to Hob.
"Of course not. It was exhilarating," Hob said, grinning at Friz and Geld.
Geld laughed and said, "Quite the mess you made over here," and went forward to give Hob a high five, then proceeded to carry the mutated deer corpse back to the tree Amy was sitting on.
And with that their first hunt was officially completed and they could finally become "HUNTED" taking a step closer to their dreams.