"Ugh," I groaned in pain as I tried to stand up, my eyes blurry. "Ahhh!" As I tried to stand up using my upper body with the help of my arms, pain surged into my body, starting from my arms. I looked at my arm, covered in leaves soaked in dried blood. Every time I moved it, my heart would begin to speed up as the pain was unfathomable.
As I breathed heavily and the pain still ongoing, I suddenly heard footsteps outside of my room. I stood on guard, even though I couldn't move. Realizing I wouldn't be able to do jack shit if anything or anyone tried to kill me, I just lay there staring at the ceiling, trying to remember what happened before I passed out.
The door creaked and caught my attention. The person who opened the door was the same person that helped me, Rengar.
Meeting his gaze, I smiled through the pain and said, "Ah, Rengar! Come on in."
Rengar nodded, took a chair, and sat right next to my bed. I continued by saying, "So, what happened?"
Rengar growled and answered while scoffing at the last part, "Well, after I killed all the deer, you passed out. I took you to where your scent was the strongest; I suspected that it would be your house. However, nothing here was useful for helping you get better."
I sighed and thanked Rengar, "Thank you for helping me."
Rengar merely nodded. I continued the conversation by asking a question, "So, how long have I been out for?"
"You've been out for three days now… And I have to say, this place is weird."
"Weird?"
"Yes. This place does not have a single predator in it. All the animals either eat fruits or plants. Not even the birds eat insects, and all the animals seem to have intelligence."
"Yeah, I've noticed that too. I even tried giving some meat to other animals a few days ago, but none took it."
Rengar frowned and added, "That's not all. When I was tending to your wounds, I fed you, and whenever I did feed you, your wounds would heal faster than usual. I've tried it by making a deep cut on myself and then eating. The next day, it was already gone."
Shocked, I asked, "I-Is that true?"
Nodding, Rengar responded, "Yeah, your arms are walking proof. Your bones were broken, yet now you're able to move enough to make a mess of the 'medicines' I made."
I looked down and stared at my arms, pondering how I could possibly heal from such injuries. But then I remembered the world of One Piece, where anything and everything could be a possibility. I did see some characters get well in just a couple of days or even hours.
I looked back at Rengar, who was frowning and looking at the window. Noticing his pique, I asked him a question, "What's wrong?"
He looked at me and said, "This island… has no worthy prey."
I smiled and said, "There is one."
"Truly?" said Rengar with a shocked face.
"Yeah, I once saw a giant monkey towering even over the tallest of the trees."
Rengar stood up, smiling like a little kid as his tail swung in excitement. "Where is it?!"
"Calm your tits. I want to fight it too."
"What?! But why?! You can't even kill deer!" protested Rengar as he showed his fangs.
I only giggled and looked out the window; however, the thing I was actually looking at was a new quest given by Orlon.
[Quest: Train for a Fine Hunt!
Train with Rengar and get his approval, then hunt for worthy prey!
Progress: 0%
Time: 1 Year]
'One year, eh? Well, with Rengar here, I probably won't be hunting for my own food. I could instead just focus on my training. The reward was surprisingly great. I had accepted it while I stared at the ceiling, and the rewards were five avatars.'
I sighed and said, "Hey Rengar, go get me something to eat and hand-feed me."
"Grrr."
--------------
1 Month Later
It has been a month since I started with Rengar. His training is extreme, and I wouldn't really call it training. At first, it was just fighting with Rengar, with him not holding back. The second phase involved throwing me in front of angry animals, around 10-20 of them at a time, and each time I would be in near-death situations.
However, the training has become easier as my body has become stronger than most creatures we've seen so far. And that's when Rengar found wolves, actual predators that ate meat. I was confused, as I thought only herbivores lived on this island. Moreover, the carnivores on this island don't seem to be as smart as the herbivores. With that being said, they are far stronger, faster, and more agile than the herbivores.
We went deeper into the forest and found out that beyond the petricite trees lies the den of the carnivores, where only carnivores exist. They eat each other and always seem eager to go to the other side of the petricite border.
With the new information, Rengar would make me run for four hours a day just to get to the other side of the island. He would then send me to hunt and fight animals with more strength and speed than me. Even now, I can barely beat two foxes simultaneously. Then after all that, he would make me run another four hours while carrying at least five carnivores. After we got to our house, he would make me hunt for another five herbivores as he cooked the carnivores I hunted.
I sat near a campfire, staring at it with an exhausted face as it made calming sounds.
"Hey, fuck face, this ain't fucking training no more… You trying to kill me, you bastard?" I said as I stared at Rengar with annoyance.
Rengar took a bite of the meat that I HUNTED and said, "Well, your majesty, the only way to be a hunter is to hunt. There is no training in the world that could help you hunt powerful prey… Nothing but hunting itself."
I sighed and looked at the fire.
"Drop the majesty bullshit."
"Then what do you want me to call you?"
I froze and remembered my past, still without me in my memory.
"I-I don't know. I don't really have a name."
Rengar stopped as he was about to take another bite, "How can a man not have a name? How will their glory be known to all?"
"Hahahaha. You only think of hunting, glory, and pride."
"Markon."
"Markon?"
"How about it? Markon is a great name."
"You're telling me to use the name Markon?"
"Yes. Markon was a mentor of sorts to me. He was the very person who taught me that the only way to be a hunter is to hunt. He was a legendary hunter; his name was spread throughout my world."
"Hahahahaha. Yeah, sure, why not?"
I laughed with tears in my eyes. After a few seconds of laughter, I stopped and said,
"Markon is a great name, Rengar. Thank you."