Hunting: The Dawning

Chapter 6: The Mushrooms Are Poisonous

As the sky turned a greyish light, Gordon got up from the bed punctually.

He moved his right arm around. It was nimble and flexible. Then he twisted his waist, and the crisp cracking sound told him that the injuries to his bones had already healed.

He jumped up and down vigorously a few times. There was no dull pain or stuffy feeling coming from his chest or abdominal cavity. It seemed that his physical condition had recovered to its peak.

He punched his palm, and the solid force made him grin with satisfaction.

He took out several pieces of portable rations and filled his stomach with some clear water.

He put on the components of the hunter's suit one by one. After getting fully armed, Gordon equipped the round shield and carefully sharpened the Hunter's Dagger with a whetstone once again.

After finishing all this, Gordon walked out of the tent.

The Hunter's Dagger emitted the unique dark purple luster that came after the juice of the poisonous mushroom had dried. The water bag was filled to the brim with the roughly made Potion.

The "devious Giant Matsutake", which was the core part of the battle plan, was carefully wrapped in large leaves and then put into the backpack.

Taking a deep breath.

Facing the rising sun that was about to emerge, Gordon strode to the entrance of the camp and, like a truly seasoned hunter, launched his first "unscrupulous" hunt in his life.

...

More than an hour passed.

Gordon wasn't in a hurry. Only with sufficient patience could one discover the slightest traces of the monster's whereabouts.

Now, he had found something.

He stroked the trace of the paintball pigment on the tree trunk, sniffed hard, and tried hard to distinguish the remaining smell of the paintball fruit in the air.

And by doing so, he confirmed the current position and distance of the Great Wild Boar King.

It had been more than ten hours since the battle last night, and the effect time of the paintball had basically reached its limit.

Fortunately, it hadn't rained last night. Otherwise, the effect of the paintball would have been greatly reduced, and the traces and smells left by the pigment would have been completely washed away.

If that had been the case, he would really have been like a headless fly.

"To the northeast, the distance is probably two to three kilometers... By the stream where there are lots of mushrooms? Good luck." Gordon's eyes lit up as he muttered to himself.

In the past two years, he had spent at least one-third of his time in the outer area of the Schreiter Forest Hills.

He might not know every single blade of grass and every tree like the back of his hand, but he was quite clear about information such as what the environment of each area was like, what the terrain was like, and what products there were.

The area where the Great Wild Boar King was currently located had relatively flat terrain and was crisscrossed with streams. It was one of the best mushroom-picking spots nearby, and it was very likely that the other was foraging for food there.

This would greatly increase the success rate of the "poison bait" operation.

He began to quicken his pace.

He had to set up the poisoned bait before the Great Wild Boar King was full.

After half an hour of hurrying on the road, the faint smell of the paintball in the air gradually became continuous and obvious.

Gordon knew that he wasn't far from his target.

He took off his helmet and, with the help of the relatively sensitive skin on his cheeks and neck, instantly judged the wind direction at that moment.

His luck was fairly good. He was downwind. As long as he was careful, he could secretly approach the Great Wild Boar King without worrying about being discovered by it.

Gordon continued to approach slowly.

This time, he had learned the lesson from last night. While advancing in a roundabout way, he carefully probed the situation in the surrounding area.

To be honest, he had a bit of a psychological shadow.

When hunting a big wild boar, a Great Wild Boar King showed up. If something even stranger showed up when he was hunting the Great Wild Boar King, would he still be alive?

Fortunately, the Schreiter Forest Hills were relatively calm during the day. Besides a few herbivorous dinosaurs that were slowly eating grass, the only other animals bigger than rabbits were the timid spirit deer.

He quietly probed and approached, and nearly another half an hour passed.

Gordon, who was lying in ambush among the bushes, saw that huge and majestic figure again.

The Great Wild Boar King was strolling leisurely among the streams, grass, and trees, looking for delicious berries and mushrooms.

Its left hind leg seemed a bit abnormal. The time it touched the ground when walking was shorter than that of its right leg, which made Gordon feel rather pleased.

The blow he had struck with all his might last night had finally injured the Achilles tendon of the Great Wild Boar King. Relying on its own recovery ability, a single night wasn't enough for the wound to heal completely.

This might be an opportunity for him.

Gordon didn't rush out recklessly. Since there was a gap in their actual strength, he had to be cautious. It wasn't time for a head-on battle yet.

After observing for a while and confirming the general route of the Great Wild Boar King's movement, Gordon quietly withdrew.

He wanted to rush to the next foraging spot of the Great Wild Boar King in advance to make arrangements.

A few minutes later, Gordon came to a clearing in the forest.

There were many fallen pine trees here. The trunks were broken and the roots were upturned. These trees had long been dead, but they were "alive" in another way.

Everything in the forest had its value, and dead wood was no exception.

Whether it was the soft and thick moss that completely covered the dead wood or the clusters of mushrooms, they were all the favorite food of the Great Wild Boar King.

The Giant Matsutake, which was regarded as a "treasure in the forest" by gourmets, could occasionally be collected around here.

Gordon was at least seventy percent sure that the Great Wild Boar King would pass by here soon to enjoy a delicious meal.

He grabbed a handful of moss with a pungent smell from the tree beside him and rubbed it vigorously on his hands and feet to make it easier to eliminate the human smell and avoid the Great Wild Boar King detecting any flaws later.

He found a tree stump where he had collected Giant Matsutake before. After burying the Paralysis Mushrooms and Poisonous Mushrooms that were disguised as Giant Matsutake shallowly under it, Gordon cleared away the traces and left silently.

The smell of the Giant Matsutake that had been chopped up and smeared on these poisoned baits was strong enough. Gordon believed that even if they were buried in the soil, the Great Wild Boar King would find them accurately.

To be honest, Gordon wasn't sure whether this could deceive the keen sense of smell of the Great Wild Boar King or whether the poisoned bait would have an effect after being eaten.

If it didn't work, he would have to rely on the Hunter's Dagger in his hand.

He scanned around with his eyes, found a bush in the downwind position and lurked there. All he could do next was wait.

Ten minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour...

As time passed by minute by minute, Gordon told himself over and over again in his heart to be patient. Even so, his mood couldn't help but start to become restless.

Just when he was about to give up, the heavy footsteps of the Great Wild Boar King came from afar.

Gordon felt his heart start to beat faster. He quickly adjusted his breathing, tried hard to suppress his heartbeat and breathing sounds, and lay motionless behind the bush like a real tree stump.

The nose of the Great Wild Boar King twitched around.

It seemed to faintly smell the scent of that abominable human.

However, compared to that faint smell, a certain intoxicating fragrance that often appeared in its sweet dreams attracted its attention more - that was the fragrance of the Giant Matsutake.

Even though it was the king of the whole group, it didn't often have the chance to eat that delicious Giant Matsutake. When was the last time it ate this delicacy? It seemed to be in the autumn before the breeding season. That sweet taste was really unforgettable.

Following the fragrance, the Great Wild Boar King trotted all the way to the tree stump.

Its long nose easily dug up the loose soil, revealing the delicious food buried under the soil.

The fragrance of the Giant Matsutake became even stronger immediately. Unlike before, this time the "Giant Matsutake" was even mixed with the sweet fragrance of honey.

Hrrrrr, it seemed that there were some other flavors mixed in it?

Never mind!

The Great Wild Boar King opened its big mouth, and in a few bites, it swallowed those delicious mushrooms whole into its mouth and then down its throat.

After a while, the intermittent roars, which became so because of abdominal pain and oral paralysis, echoed throughout the whole mountain forest.