Chapter 1 Hunting Game

It was the eve of the era that I premonished hell would break loose upon the lands of man. The sky above was turbulent, thick clouds of bloodlust were preventing the radiant sun from showing its glory. From the thunderous bombs that were barraging the atmosphere, I could tell that a violent downpour was approaching.

[Trickle! Trickle!] Tainted droplets started falling atop my head, within seconds I became drench to my neck. Now my singular vision was blurry, making it difficult for me to see. I blinked repetitiously until my vision was less impaired.

[Blink! Blink!] Before my remaining eye I perceived an army of conflicting men engaging each other in the strict art of slaughter. [Slash! Slash!] The sounds of flesh being cut through by rigid steel echoed throughout the battlefield, subsequently, came the deafening hollers of the injured men who were closing in on death’s premises. [Ahhh!]

[Whoosh!] The troubled air carried a strong stench of blood mixed with sanguinary entrails, enough to fatally damage the nostrils of inexperienced warriors. The mephitic scent became amplified once the heavy downpour began. [Trickle! Trickle!] Having their armour drenched with tumultuous rain coupled with the sticky sweat pouring out of their flesh, had much to do with the warriors' depleting combat prowess.

My vantage point of the Vagabond War Plain was from an elevated slope. Upon that hill, I was able to perceive the macabre series of murders executing below me. All were visible to my severed head currently resting on the pointy tip of a wooden spike.

You must be wondering, how is it that I’m able to tell this story with the rest of my lower half no longer attached. It all began 51 days ago upon the autumnal summit of Mt Sakai. This vicious mountain scape marked the inception of my unbelievable life’s journey.

Day 1……

[Whoosh!] There I was lying on the rough terrain of Mt Sakai’s summit with my left ear pressed weakly on the ground while my battle spear rested soundly beside me. My eyes were closed and my breathing steady, listening for the approach of the beast I came here to hunt.

…….. Seconds passed by during my moment of stillness… eventually, seconds extended to several minutes until I finally heard soft rustling coming from the shrubs 100-stretch-of-men away.

“Could that be the creature?” I thought to myself. To confirm my suspicions, I slowly rose to my feet, picked up my spear then searched my eyes around the lush area in advance of locating a branchy tall tree replete with lots of ripening pink fruits.

“Up there seems like a good vantage point. Just you wait, village elders. Soon I will have your mouths loosened by my astonishing achievements.” I was destined to prove to my tribe elders that they were wrong about me being the weakest among my brothers.

My Aigoo tribe’s lineage was one of the oldest in the western plains of Bethlia. Our people surpassed the other regional tribes when it came down to being gifted with natural talent. At birth, our males possessed the strength of 1 woman. After reaching the maturity of 5 bone-years, we naturally attained the strength of 3 grown women. In the peak of our adolescent, we inherited the strength of 5 grown men and with added training, our strength would skyrocket to that of 10 men! (The strength of 1-man was equivalent to the strength of 3-women within my Aigoo tribe)

I was labelled as one of the failures among my tribe whose strength was stuck at the bottleneck of 5-men. Because of this, I was seen as a weakling amongst my people, almost like an outcast. My peers would bully me constantly, cursing me as a dud. This amplified my yearning to become stronger. Stronger than everyone in my entire village.

Back then I trained myself tirelessly night and day. The Aigoo tribe had a custom of training their young warriors by allowing them access to the mountain boulders set-up at our training camps. These mountain boulders were said to have an avoirdupois of 22 mature horses combined. To prove their worth as true descendants of the Aigoo tribe, warriors were tasked to lift and carry a mountain boulder upon their backs for 2 sun rotations.

My first attempt at lifting the mountain boulder failed. All I could do was pushed with all my might to get it to roll slightly. Even so, my brothers laughed at my failed attempts instead of assisting in my training. But I didn’t let it bother me that much. I toughed up my mettle and continued my arduous training alone. I desperately tried to surpass my limits before the Ceremony of Warriors began.

My Aigoo tribe would hold a Ceremony of Warriors once every decade. It involved the combination of fearless young warriors who didn’t mind rushing headlong into danger. Each warrior was given rare and unique tasks by our family branch elders. The tasks were kept secret from other warriors to prevent us from working together.

The warrior who managed to attain the most accomplishment from their given tasks would receive the new head of patriarch of his household. Which meant being in command of an entire army. Moreover, that warrior would be gifted 13 selected virgins of the purest quality to copulate with and produce the most powerful pure-blooded descendants. This warrior who had reaped all the benefits could even extend his harem as he sees fit.

Being the patriarch was one of the highest glory the Aigoo tribe warriors could attain. And I, Ludwig B. Aigoo, the seventh son of my father’s seed linage was aiming for that position.

The tasks I had received was of no simple feat. I was given a total of 8 arduous objectives. One of which involved the capturing of a rare phoenix fish that resided in the pit of a volcanic sauna. It took me a month to accomplished this difficult task and return the capture to my tribe. I made sure to clear the hardest objectives first; save the moderate ones for last. The last thing I had to do before the completion of my given missions was to hunt down one of Mt Sakai’s endangered species which brought me back to where I previously left off.

…..After I heard the loud rustling coming from the distant shrubberies, I slowly rose to my feet, picked up my spear and strapped it to my back. I began glancing around my lush environment until I located a suitable tree that I could scout from atop. I swiftly approached the tree while maintaining stealth. At my arrival, I latched my husky arms around the tree’s trunk. Though it was too thick enough for my arms to fully wrap around, this didn’t hinder me from ascending the trunk.

[Tap! Tap!] I held my breath and commenced my determined climb. The strength of 3-men was allocated to my arms to keep me moving upwards. Eventually, I reached a point where I could grab onto an ample size branch. From there, I made my way higher until I was satisfied at a good vantage point.

“My ear is picking up on an incoming vibration over by that shrubs. There is still some movement. The footsteps are firm and heavy, fitting the description of a monstrous beast. But, is it the one that I came here to hunt?”

Not sure if the unidentified creature lurking behind the distant shrubs was the specific game I came to Mt Sakai to hunt, my keen vision zoomed in on that area of interest. The beast’s appearance wasn’t quite clear to me as yet due to the multiple leaflets obstacles which were blocking my line of sight. Thus I also depended on my sense of hearing to discern which direction the unknown creature was headed.

“Hm, it is moving northwards. That area is close to where I set up the bait. I must follow without alerting it of my presence.”

[Whoosh!] I began swinging from tree to tree with the dexterity of a monkey. I utilized the strength of 2-men within my arms to leap across the aerial boundaries while applying the strength of 4-women in my feet to limit the noise I would cause upon landing.

[Thud!] My skilful movements came to a halt after arriving at my destined location ahead of the sneaking beast. I stood steady on a thick branch which overlooked a primitive apparatus below which was earlier set-up by my hands. Multiple lanky branches were being held firmly together by many intricate knots made out of dried wisp vines. Their entanglement formed a platter on the ground that hosted a skinned deer seasoned with its own blood. I thought that this succulent offering would surely attract the beast that I was hunting.

[Rustle! Rustle!] I stayed my legs steadily upon the thick branch, waiting for the unidentified creature to make its appearance. Shortly after I equipped my battle spear from my rear, I heard signs of the beast’s approach getting closer.

“Here it comes.” My silent excitement was reaching an audible gasp. [Ba-dump! Ba-dump!] I had to still the jubilant palpitations of my heart to prevent myself from being found out by the incoming creature below me.

[Tut! Tut!] I finally laid eyes on the prior indistinct creature which eluded my vision’s clarity for a while. 4 paws leading from its underbelly trod over solid pebbles scattered across the rough terrain; its bushy tail combed the grass behind it with a repetitious sway; a well-groomed head possessing a pointy nose and an elongated mouth was present at its anterior.

“I recognized that creature. That isn’t the endangered beast who I came here to hunt.” What sneakily approached the tempting bait laid out on the wooden platter below me was a Catamount Fox. One that was pretty obese for its given nature. This Catamount Fox threw my expectations awry. My previously built up excitement lowered after discovering that I’ve tracked down the wrong beast.

[Sigh!] I exuded dejected breath of air from my capacious lungs while observing the famished Catamount Fox nibbling on my spoil below. Fallen leaves radiating autumnal quality were tousling to and fro as I wallowed in the interim of disappointment.

For days I’ve been staking out Mt Sakai’s summit for a specific game that I strongly desired to prove to my tribe that I was also an apex warrior, so imagine my frustration when the only creature caught into my web of lure was an obese Catamount Fox.

“Ahh… what a discouraging day this is. Will it be a no show again? Might as well save the rest of the bait for tomorrow.”

[Thud!] I hopped down from the tree branch that was hovering directly above the baited area. The moment my muscular feet impacted the ground, my sudden intrusive presence alerted the Catamount Fox’s awareness. It withdrew its head from the platter where it was enjoying its feast then stared directly at me. Our eyes met for the first time in existence. During the interim of which our gaze lasted, we came to a mutual understanding of an unspoken bond.

The Catamount Fox read my intentions, thus it swept its fluffy tail across my vision as a forbidding gesture then hurriedly hopped away from the wooden platter, dashing soundly into the masking shrubberies, returning whence it came. Of course, I didn’t give chase to its fleeing posterior for my current interest wasn’t placed on its species.

Confirming that the Catamount Fox’s presence had indeed completely vanished from my vicinity, I reached towards the wooden platter close by and retrieved the skinned deer’s remains. I grabbed it by its anterior legs which were half-eaten then tossed its slim body over my left shoulder. The viscous substances from the deer’s raw flesh soaked into parts of my hunting vest. I didn’t mind the foul stench nor the excited flies swarming around me. As a warrior of the Aigoo tribe, I was trained to control the sensitivity of my nostrils, moreover, not to be bothered by the uncountable presence of flies unless their aim was my own flesh.

I placed my thumb along with my index finger between the tight folding of my lips then exuded controlled fragments of air which produced a loud whistle. [Wee-hooo!] “Come, Tagon!”

I whistled again for my loyal steed whom I had instructed to wait far away out of my hunting range. [Gallop! Gallop!] After the time it took for a colony of ants to evacuate their nest when being stepped down on had past, my ears began deciphering faint gallops from afar. This indicated that my trusted steed was on its way towards me. I waited at my current position for Tagon to arrive. Due to this, my guard was lowered, making me completely defenceless against the apex predator which was creeping towards my posterior without my knowledge. [Roar!]