The scenery was deceptively peaceful. The small hill was less overgrown, allowing a bit of snow to drift in.
Many plants had adapted to the harsh weather, stubbornly keeping their green dresses.
The small beasts weren't discouraged by the snow falling on their scales, continuing their rounds.
And not far away Laim hid behind a tree with a serious expression. He quietly prowled from hiding spot to hiding spot, analyzing if it was worth choosing this pack as his target.
After a while Liam spotted something halfway up the hill. It was an underground entrance, faint fog wafting around it.
One beast always seemed to stay close while the others went to search for food.
This has to be their nest.
Liam stared at the hole closely.
With how guarded they are, chances are high that they are hiding a few eggs. This should be my best bet. If I fail here, I might have to ask Merida for money…
Liam smiled wryly while staring at the three small grenades hanging from his belt.
Glancing at the light coming through the trees he directly ruled out the flashbang. This only left him with a smoke grenade and a noise grenade.
Liam took the latter into his hand. His eyes narrowed.
Let's gamble.
A moment later a black sphere sailed through the air. A few of the beasts noticed something, looking up in confusion.
The grenade landed close to the lair. It instantly erupted, letting out a deafening noise. The surrounding trees shook.
Beast cries echoed in the forest. Their ears hurt, leaving them disoriented.
Liam didn't waste a second, running up the hill. He looked quite comical with his hands covering his ears.
He quickly reached the entrance. The guarding beast was closest to the earlier grenade. It was badly affected, blood coming out of its tiny ears.
Liam didn't pay much attention to it as he dived into the nest.
He entered a narrow tunnel, forcing him to rob on all fours. His rather small body served as an advantage right now.
Fortunately, the nest wasn't deep. Soon, a bigger cave came into view.
Liam could oversee it at one glance. Towards the side was a beast, which obviously got rudely interrupted in its sleep. It also looked confused, but its eyes were slowly clearing up.
Right next to the beast was a pile of rather small eggs with green spots.
Liam felt anxiousness welling up in his heart. He didn't dare to think too much. Directly grabbing two eggs he immediately robbed backwards.
But the moment it noticed its eggs stolen, the resting beast sobered up. It stared angrily at Liam, letting out a loud growl.
Liam felt his heart skip a beat. The small beast dashed at him, its claw raised high.
Gritting his teeth the novice hunter could only place the eggs down and draw a short knife from his belt.
Liam took a swing, aiming for the beast's eyes just as he did thousands of times in the game.
But unfortunately, this was real life. Before Liam's knife hit, he felt a pang of guilt. He hesitated.
At this moment the beast's claw arrived. Liam instinctively tried to block with his knife, but it was too late.
Liam groaned in pain as the claw graced his hand.
Liam felt an unreasonable anger affecting him. Stimulated by the pain he suddenly stabbed out with his knife.
However, in the small tunnel the beast had a huge advantage. It jumped backwards out of the hunter's reach.
At this moment a sound reached Liam's ears form behind, reminding him of the other beasts.
Liam's mind immediately cleared up. He had a quick thought, taking out his smoke grenade and dropping it to the floor.
Instantly a large cloud of smoke escaped the lair, shrouding the hill.
Liam hurried up. With the two eggs in hand, he left the nest followed by angry roars.
Counting on his luck the hunter ran straight down the hill. At this point most of the beasts had sobered up. Some of them plunged into the smoke, while others kept guard outside.
Suddenly the smoke churned, revealing a large figure.
Liam took a quick glance, deciding on a direction. He darted between two beasts and disappeared into the forest.
After a few moments Liam let out a sigh of relief. He looked at the eggs in his hands with a grin.
But suddenly he heard the rustling of leaves behind him. Turning around, Liam almost didn't belief his eyes as he saw the beasts pursuing him at a speed, he didn't deem possible with their small legs.
F*ck!
Liam realized that he rejoiced too early. He hastily continued.
Deliberately jumping over fallen trees and smaller rocks, Liam chose a path which proved difficult for the short beasts.
Fortunately, his tactic worked, helping him to build some distance.
However, Liam had already learned his lesson and didn't dare to let go of his vigilance.
Behind him the beasts kept roaring, adamant about getting their eggs back.
But what Liam didn't know was that these roars weren't only meant for their own race. Instead, they could also be understood by other beasts.
Thus, as Liam passed another large tree, a small wolf-like beast suddenly pounced at him, the likes of which he had seen earlier.
"What?!"
Liam was shocked. His body moved on instinct, dodging like he did uncountable times in the game.
But the beast's attack was too sudden and more flexible than enemies in Fate of Crunaboul.
The small wolf adjusted its claw, reaching Liam's waist.
Fortunately the young man didn't save on the armor earlier. The claw got entangled, only producing some shallow cuts on his waist.
Liam took a deep breath, not hesitating to stab out with his knife this time.
"Let go!"
The beast didn't dare to receive the hit, retracting its claws.
Liam immediately dashed away. An angry snarl sent shivers down his back.
Liam gritted his teeth. He sent out a short prayer as he placed the eggs in his grenade holders, put away his knife and took out his bow again.
Suddenly Liam dug his heel into the floor. He turned his upper body, aimed, and shot in a smooth motion.
Archery has always been one of Liam's best disciplines. The arrow glided through the air, aiming for the wolf's heart.
The beast's instincts screamed danger. It managed to move its body at the last moment, the arrow burrowing deeply into its shoulder.
Liam didn't take the time to watch the result as he escaped.
But with the faster moving wolf handicapped, a lot of pressure fell off Liam's shoulders.
He continued running as the sounds behind him gradually quieted down.
Liam breathed erratically. He felt the temperature around him drop, more light reaching the forest.
With a few last steps he finally left the forest.
I did it!
Liam felt a mix of lingering fear and excitement. Luck and skills allowed him to leave the forest with minor injuries.
In his former life Liam already trained the game's moves in real life, but he never had to use them in a threatening situation like today.
Who would've thought that all those hours would pay off some day. Maybe I should continue to train in the future. Especially in this world filled with beasts and martial artists. It might save my life someday.
Various thoughts were going through Liam's head as he reached the city wall. He marveled at the black, unblemished metal which protected the city from the dangers outside.
Showing his medal, a soldier wordlessly allowed him entry.
Tension left Liam's body as he arrived back in the secure city. A few hunters glanced at him, a hint of respect in their eyes as they noticed the newbie's bloody hand.
Liam smiled as he entered the hunters office.
All transactions had to be made through them else they would be considered illegal.
Liam didn't want any trouble with the law, obediently placing the eggs he stolen on the counter in front of a friendly female assistant.
"Hey, it's you again!"
"Yeah."
"It seems you were quite successful. Two Scaled Menaar eggs. Not bad for a newbie! Good job!"
"Thank you. How much can I get for them?"
"I can give you three thousand five hundred per egg, taxes already deducted."
Liam stared at the assistant in surprise.
"What? But others told me eggs are worth a lot. Only 3,5k?"
"Well, they are not wrong. But eggs are only worth a lot if they belong to rare beasts.
Menaar are too weak and ordinary. If they weren't unique to Falva Star their eggs would be worth even less."
"So… is this it?"
The assistant showed a troubled expression. Since she helped Liam register earlier, she knew he didn't even have an ID, making it obvious that the youngster was a lower-class citizen.
Blinking her slender eyes the assistant pondered for a moment before speaking up.
"Ok. Since you are a newbie, we can make some concessions. Four thousand per egg. But not a cent more!"
Liam showed a grateful expression.
"Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this helps me!"