TtOW! - Chapter 152 - Becoming the Hunter (Patreon)

Taog went back to sleep for the night. Traveling the forest alone at night would be excessively dangerous, and he would need to sleep eventually anyways. After all, just because he was going to march into danger did not mean he should abandon ALL wisdom. So, he tried to rest as well as he could, then woke back up a bit before dawn. He quietly gathered his things and then made his way out of the camp. As he did, NSLICE-00P deactivated standby-sentry mode and exited her tent. Ateia did likewise, frowning.

“Taog just left, huh?”

“Affirmative.”

“That’s right. But I must ask you both not to follow him.”

The two turned to Colleöne, who walked back up to the camp. Ateia frowned.

“What do you mean, Victoria? It’s dangerous to travel through the forests alone, especially at night.”

Colleöne looked Ateia in the eye.

“It is. But Taog has embarked on the Trial of Hunters, like his mother once did before him. It is important to him that he achieves this quest by his own strength.”

“Query: So friendly Taog’s current mission has a contribution parameter?”

Colleöne glanced at NSLICE-00P and nodded.

“That’s a good way of putting it.”

Ateia crossed her arms.

“That might be true, but the last time we did that we at least had Seero watching us. I’m not letting Taog go off alone, where we can’t see or help him if something happens.”

Colleöne turned back to Ateia and placed a hand on her shoulder. Colleöne’s eyes pulsed lightly with golden and silver light.

“You are not. Fear not, I am watching over him.”

Then Colleöne smiled.

“Besides, imagine what might happen should Taog return victorious. A Taog who has proven to himself that he has the strength to stand up and fight, who has grown in confidence and holds his head high.”

Colleöne winked.

“And who has gained the courage necessary to acknowledge his own heart one day…and to act on it.”

Ateia blinked as she considered Colleöne’s words…and then blushed.

“That’s….um…”

Colleöne chuckled as Ateia looked down, averting her gaze. Meanwhile NSLICE-00P’s robotic eye flickered.

“Query: Analysis indicates friendly Taog’s risk of termination may still necessitate intervention even considering friendly contribution parameters. This unit would like to deploy surveillance assets to monitor conditions around the friendly’s operational area.”

Colleöne rubbed her chin for a bit, then nodded to herself.

“This is a good opportunity, in fact. NSLICE-00P, may I ask you to avoid watching Taog directly? There is something I wish to teach Ateia, and I would like to avoid her utilizing your assets to do so. You may keep the drones on standby in the area until then.”

“Acknowledgement: If Colleöne will be observing the friendly and mitigating the risk of termination, then this unit can accept that request.”

Colleöne nodded.

“You have my word.”

“Acknowledged. Request accepted.”

With that, NSLICE-00P deployed several of her drones, which flew high into the air and then in the direction Taog had headed, though per Colleöne’s request she avoided Taog’s immediate vicinity. Colleöne motioned to Ateia and the two of them walked off to the side, a bit away from the camp.

“This is something I thought you might learn later, but perhaps we can take a shortcut. As you well know, the Aesdes see with more than eyes. It is possible for us to view the world through time…and space. You did this by accident when you could not control your powers, now it is time to attempt it with intention.”

Colleöne made eye contact with Ateia with a serious expression.

“This is not without risk. You could very much lose control of your powers, and end up back where you started in the villa. It is a bit early for you to attempt this, to be honest, but I feel that as you have someone important to focus on and a reason to see them that you should be able to figure it out. Do you wish to make the attempt?”

Ateia met her gaze and nodded.

“Everyone Taog has ever cared about has left him alone. I don’t want to do the same, not even for a bit.”

Colleöne nodded back.

“Good, hold on to that resolve. Let us begin. Now, close your eyes, the cybernetic one included. This is not simply a matter of seeing further. You are not using your eyes, you are connecting to the power of Elséró that flows through every corner of the world, that connects every living thing. But take care! Even an Aesdes cannot fully comprehend all the workings of the world! Even the very air contains multitudes and wonders that outnumber the grains of sand in the ocean. Focus is key if you wish to avoid being swept away by the tide of knowledge, much less to actually find that which you seek.”

Ateia nodded with a serious expression and closed her eyes. Colleöne took a deep breath.

“Now, stir up your mana, and I will show you how to connect to the world around you…”

***

A monster wolf charged through the forest, snarling as it pounced towards its prey. Taog leapt out of the way of the attack and swung one of his blades. He caught the monster on its flank, but the blade failed to cut through the monster’s HP. Taog cursed and leapt back, the monster wolf yelped and jumped forward. The two both took some distance, eyeing each other and circling around.

Taog took the opportunity to stir up his mana, infusing his blades in preparation for a Dark Slash. He grimaced slightly as he forced the mana through. The Mana Iron swords given to him by Consul Noxisius were much more receptive to mana than his old sword had been, but were still much harder to infuse with Dark mana than the Dark Blade had been.

Taog continued to regret his lack of ranged options besides throwing his own weapon. He still needed to apologize to Seero for losing the enchanted weapon, in fact. But such thoughts were a distraction now, so he put them aside and forced his mana into the blades. The wolf eyed him warily as it adjusted its position.

“Fine, I’ll come to you then!”

Taog rushed towards the wolf. The monster seemed surprised, and barely leapt out of the way as Taog brought one of his swords down. But as a result, it couldn’t dodge the second.

“Dark Slash!”

Taog shouted to help him focus on the skill. His second strike wasn’t as powerful as the first since he couldn’t put his weight into it, but he hoped that the skill would make up for it.

And he was right.

The Dark mana cut through the wolf’s HP and dealt a large gash to its side. The wolf yelped and fell to the ground. Taog did not miss that opportunity, leaping on top of it and stabbing both his swords into its neck.

[You have slain Lupus Ferus (Level 25)!]

[Gained 17 XP!]

Taog exhaled his breath. Under normal circumstances, he would try to avoid monsters like this. But that went against the spirit of the Trial of Hunters. While obviously the young Wulver were not expected to act suicidally, the journey was to be one of challenge and growth, to hunt the monsters of the land until one achieved the greatest victory they thought themselves capable of. So Taog was taking on any challenge he thought he could win. And trying to challenge himself in the process.

It was quite exhausting.

He heaved a sigh, then began to clean his weapons and dismantle the wolf. A Lupus Ferus was by and large a normal wolf, though heavily buffed by mana and far more vicious. Its pelt was certainly useful, had he been on a hunting trip he would have considered it a prize, but it was not so valuable that he would carry it around while he was looking for tougher fights. Likewise, he had sufficient rations and didn’t want to spend the time processing the meat for storage. So he simply took the mana core, and then buried the corpse.

Standard procedure would be to burn anything he wasn’t going to use, leaving monster corpses lying around could have consequences. But well, that assumed he wanted to avoid drawing other monsters to the area…or facing feral undead.

Taog sighed again. He again questioned the sanity of his mom’s half of the family, life had enough battles without intentionally seeking out more. Though, to be fair, the Wulver participating in the Trial of Hunters likely wouldn’t be carrying a pack full of Imperial rations, and would have just consumed the corpse outright, cooking optional.

But they could shove off. Taog was only half-Wulver, so he’d only half follow the Trial. After all, humans tended to respond poorly to consuming raw monster meat, and it turned out he was very human in that regard. A battle with his stomach would not result in an ‘honorable’ victory.

He shook his head as he finished burying the wolf. The stress and the adrenaline were getting to him.

But…he could not help a small smirk. The last time he had been on a hunting trip in the forets of Turannia, he had to cower and hide at the first sniff of a monster like this. He would admit he was enjoying being the hunter for once, of marching through the forest and daring the monsters to challenge him.

Perhaps there was a reason the Wulver chose to live like this.

After a moment’s rest, he stood back up. He was making decent time even with the fights, seeing as how he didn’t need to detour to avoid them, and he could no longer see, hear, or smell the ocean. If he was still on the path Mighty Victoria had advised, he would be reaching the bog soon.

And soon after he would be tested, as stated by the Lady of Victory and Courage herself.

His heart began to pound at that thought. He took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes.

And then he stepped forward and began to walk, continuing on his quest.

Author’s Note:

Don’t worry, Taog, Colleöne is handling the hardest part of the quest for you!

Preventing NSLICE-00P from completing it first!

Anyways!

Can Colleöne prevent NSLICE-00P from completing the quest? Will Ateia learn this new power? What will Taog find on his journey? Tune in next time, to find out!