The winds whistled over the plains on the day I completed my [Quest]. Following the river upstream, we had stayed within a reasonable distance of the herd of the huge grazing beasts. The swarm had been hunting them especially since they were large, and while they were dangerously strong and heavy, they were prey through and through. These things had their large, sharp horns that had gored a couple of the slower keelish, but never fatally since the beasts didn’t seek to use them except as a warding blow until it was too late.

The beasts stood on all four cloven hooves, reminiscent of one of the cows domesticated occasionally within the Veushten people. But only reminiscent. These “feral cows” were even larger than the largest bull I’d ever seen, with longer, thicker fur and more threatening horns. Along their spines and each joint they had hardened, hairless, thick skin that was nearly impossible to bite through, and when threatened they usually lowered their heads and tried to use their horns and armored skin to batter through whatever was before them. They were the best candidate for me to complete my [Quest], given their powerful builds and that there wasn’t anything around that seemed better, so I’d set the swarm to find out if there was an “Alpha” or something similar among their herd.

I still hadn’t taken part in any of the hunts since I wanted to preserve the greatest possible reward once I completed the [Quest], and over the past three days since we’d first seen these creatures the swarm hadn’t taken long to find out which one was the perfect prey for me. There was one, very obviously male, that stood shoulder above the rest of its herd. The individual members of the herd all had the same horns, but this one’s horns were twice as large as the rest. His shoulders’ muscles obviously flexed with every step, and his armor-like skin spread down further from his spine, over his shoulders, ribs, and haunches. If he were a human, it would have been balding and comedic, but on this goliath of a beast, it only accentuated its muscular frame.

Having verified it on my [Status], I knew that I didn’t need to be the only one that participated in the hunt, but there was something about being forced not to hunt that had me itching to take it down alone. Usually the enemy Alpha, as I began to think of him, would range around the edges of his herd, keeping an eye out and trying to dissuade any assault. Thus, I, the triplets, Took, and her band laid in wait in a deeper patch of grass, waiting for the herd to pass by and for the Alpha to come close enough for me to begin the slaughter.

The hunt was different, always before I had stalked my prey down and either engaged them in combat or run them down. Now, however, I was reminded of the hunts of my previous life: acquainting myself with the prey’s habits, setting traps, laying in wait, the anxiety and jittery energy that came with the heightened expectations. Of course, I remembered my last hunt with Viilor, the extermination we were going to bring about on a small keelish swarm…

He’d apologized right at the end, but I thought he’d sneered down at me. Did I remember that correctly? At this point, I was so far away from that time both physically and emotionally, did I even care about him? If he was still alive, he’d be in the territory of the “Theocracy”, assuming I was right about it being the same place more or less where I’d grown up. I still didn’t know when the Theocracy had come into being, since our tribe was one of a dozen in the area, and the maps I’d seen, while limited, hadn’t shown any unified government–

I drew myself from my thoughts. Honestly, Viilor was a bastard. He deserved to die for what he did to me, and I would like some answers, but I didn’t really care if I ever got them. Instead, I’d just put him down and move on. Plus, with us having moved to the opposite side of the continent, unless I somehow fully revived the Keel Empire, it would be a moot point.

With a heavy sigh, I realized I really didn’t care about Viilor anymore. He was the catalyst for my change, but I was here and I wasn’t looking to go back. I rolled my shoulders back, the weight of revenge slipping from my conscience as I rallied myself to go into battle. The Alpha was coming close, the herd of prey continuing on their path towards the river and, by extension, us.

With a creak my fingers and claws flexed, the scales around my hands flared, and I activated [Combatant’s Bloodlust]. I could see a persistent weak spot on the prey as a whole in a spot just behind their shoulders, a place to stab into their hearts. The Alpha didn’t have that, the weakness covered with the thickened defensive skin and corded muscle. Instead, at the base of his skull there was an occasional flash of a fatal weakness, but it was frequently covered by his horns and head movement. Then there was the belly, ripe and wide open for evisceration. Finally, the throat, which was a wide open fatal weak point, the only problem being the massive horns that were attached to the head. I put my spear to the side, not wanting to snap the haft against such a massive foe, and began to plan my attack.

Finally, twenty meters… fifteen meters… ten… The Alpha’s nose flared, and he raised his head high, looking out for me. That was my cue. I pushed my magic to both my hands and my throat and grinned. Combat once again.

The Alpha, no, the prey lowered its head and began thundering forward, on towards me. Once I was within striking distance it lashed out with its horns while I stepped back and dodged well away, getting a read of its reach. It spun its head in a circle, rearing onto its back legs and lashing out with its front hooves. On its back feet, the thing must have been 4m tall, just like the Nanuk, but trying to compare the two was laughable. I darted forward and swept my claws into its lower ribcage, the bone easily giving way before my vibrating nails. At the belly, I drilled my hand deeper until my fist impacted with unforgiving flesh. The prey screamed in terror, agony, and rage as I stepped back and avoided its heavy slam against the ground.

The earth trembled beneath me as I reevaluated the so-called Alpha before me. Prey just didn’t understand the hunt, only escape. I could see the foolish creature contemplating fleeing as it continued to bleat piteously while trying to understand how it had come to this. I sighed and almost reluctantly let out a [Crippling Cry] as I sprung forward to finish the disappointing hunt. The bull before me blinked heavily and stumbled backwards while its nose began to dribble blood. I gently placed my left hand at the base of its skull, and with just a bare hint of effort, sliced through its spine. Unceremoniously, the corpse dropped to the ground while I took note of the flashing [System] notification.

[Quest completed. Growth achieved. Quest board updated. Status Updated.]