Hunting: The Dawning

Chapter 2: Task Completed?

Gordon's lips were tightly pursed as he nimbly made his way through the dense forest with its complex terrain.

The previous smooth progress seemed to have exhausted his good fortune. More than two hours had passed since he left the camp, and he had just discovered the tracks where a big wild boar had passed by.

He looked up at the sky.

Although the sun hadn't completely set, the light had dimmed a lot. If he wanted to finish the hunt before nightfall, there wasn't much time left.

Hunting at night wasn't completely unfeasible. Having received a complete hunter's training, he could still move around freely even in the dark.

However, too many creatures, and even monsters, that were active at night lived in the Schreiter Forest Hills.

Compared to the daytime, the danger level of hunting at night was undoubtedly several levels higher.

At this moment, he had two options in front of him.

One was to give up the tracking and return to the camp immediately. He could start the hunt again after daybreak tomorrow. Anyway, only two of the three days of the task time limit had passed. As long as he completed the hunting task before the end of tomorrow, there would be no problem.

The other was to continue tracking the tracks of the big wild boar and complete the task as soon as possible.

Both the teachings of the instructors in the past and the rationality in his heart were telling Gordon that returning to the camp at this time was the best choice.

But another thought was also boiling in his mind.

—So what if it's night hunting? Am I scared? If I don't even have this much courage, how can I hunt flying dragons in the future?

After only hesitating for a few seconds, Gordon, who was at the most impulsive age, decided to take a risk!

He even found an excuse for himself in his heart:

What if I'm out of luck tomorrow and can't find a single big wild boar all day? Wouldn't the task fail then? This isn't being impulsive. It's a mature choice made after careful consideration based on the actual situation!

Having made the decision, Gordon straightened his gear, quickened his pace, and plunged into the deep, gloomy forest.

More than half an hour later, it was completely dark in the forest.

Because of the cover of the vegetation, night always came faster in the jungle.

In the dim light, the branches and vines were indistinct. The strange calls of the owls were now near and now far. The fireflies fluttered sporadically like will-o'-the-wisps. People with less courage might scream just by standing here.

But Gordon was extremely excited.

At this moment, he was squatting on the ground, examining the footprints of a big wild boar.

"The footprints are very fresh. That guy is nearby!" Gordon couldn't help grinning as he pinched the soft soil at the edge of the footprint with his fingers.

Hunting was not just about fighting.

Intelligence gathering, preparation of equipment and items, and tracking of traces were all important parts of the hunting process.

Since he had already found the target, he was fully confident that he could deal with it neatly.

He slightly lowered his body, bent his knees, and his feet were almost firmly pressed against the ground, moving forward alternately.

This way of moving wasn't fast, but it could avoid making noise to the greatest extent, avoid attracting the attention and vigilance of the target, and was convenient for seizing the initiative.

Gordon silently searched forward, and soon, the target appeared in his line of sight.

This was a lone wild boar. It wasn't very big in size, and its tusks weren't long. It should be a female individual and was even easier to deal with than the one he had encountered before.

As long as he took it down, he could complete the task, pass the assessment, and become a full-fledged hunter!

Thinking of this, Gordon's heart couldn't help but start beating faster.

The instructor's teaching of "You must observe carefully and confirm the surrounding environment before starting the hunt" was thrown to the back of his mind.

He quickly scanned the surroundings. After simply confirming that there were no other creatures within his line of sight, Gordon resolutely launched an attack.

The plan was the same as before. Charge forward to approach, start with a shield bash to disrupt the target's balance, and then launch continuous slashes to finish the battle!

The young hunter was full of confidence.

However, this time, things didn't develop as he had planned.

Perhaps the distance wasn't close enough, or maybe because the target wasn't eating at this time and was quite vigilant.

As soon as he rushed out of the shadows, the perceptive big wild boar turned its head towards him. At the same time, it dug its hind hooves into the ground, ready to charge.

"Tsk."

Gordon clicked his tongue while charging. It was okay to hit an unprepared big wild boar from the side, but charging head-on against these guys was just stupid.

However, failing to seize the initiative didn't mean being at a disadvantage. It just made the battle process a little bit more troublesome.

He changed his pace. The legs that had been charging at full speed reduced their strength by three-tenths.

At the instant when he was about to collide with the big wild boar, Gordon crossed his feet and spun his body, dodging the position. While passing by the big wild boar, he slashed it on the buttocks.

The big wild boar let out a miserable howl and stopped in its tracks.

Gordon wouldn't let go of such a good opportunity. He stepped forward and slashed several times in succession, hitting the hind legs of the big wild boar with each blow, just to disable its charging ability.

Unexpectedly, this big wild boar exerted force with its front limbs and suddenly swung its head back. Its short, dagger-like tusks stabbed towards him.

Gordon was a bit surprised but not flustered. He raised the shield on his right arm and blocked it.

This was the main reason why apprentice hunters generally used shortswords.

They were light, flexible, neither outstanding in attack nor defense, but very balanced. In the face of unexpected situations, they could switch between offense and defense quickly and freely.

"Clang!"

The tusks collided with the bone-made round shield. Gordon steadily blocked this blow, and instead, the big wild boar with its seriously injured hind legs staggered backward.

Under the impact, although his right arm holding the shield felt a bit numb, it didn't affect his next offensive moves.

The half-meter-long Hunter's Dagger was as light as a feather in his hand. Vertical slashes, horizontal swings, and backhand strikes, a whole set of combos burst out instantly.

"Oink-ow-ow-ow!"

The wild boar that was hit by the sword one after another let out a tragic howl that echoed through the mountain forest. Of course, Gordon didn't feel any sympathy for it and continued to swing his weapon to launch slashes continuously.

Until it completely fell down.

Compared to the previous one, the appearance of this wild boar's death was much more miserable.

There were hardly any intact pieces of skin on its body with sword marks all over it, and blood was splattered everywhere.

Gordon, standing aside, was panting heavily. Even though he had excellent physical strength, he was really struggling after this whole set of full-strength attacks.

Fortunately, the hunt was over.

All he needed to do next was to collect the tusks of the wild boar and take them back to the camp.

After catching his breath evenly, Gordon, who was just about to walk towards the body of the big wild boar, suddenly froze.

He could feel a dangerous and malicious gaze locking onto him.

Ignoring the body of the big wild boar beside him, Gordon suddenly turned around and looked in a certain direction. He raised his arm and put the round shield in front of him, gripping the hunter's sword tightly in his palm, and was on full alert.

The heavy breathing, the heavy footsteps that made the ground tremble slightly, and the cracking sound of broken trees.

A huge black figure slowly emerged from among the trees.

The first thing that caught his eye was a pair of huge tusks that were thicker than the trees.

Facing these huge tusks, such a thought popped into Gordon's mind: Were these really something that could grow naturally on a creature?

The huge tusks were not smooth or beautiful. They were uneven in thickness and not even symmetrical on the left and right.

But the spiral patterns, which seemed to be twisted by huge machinery like steel bars and were full of a sense of power, had an inescapable wild tension of their own.

"…Dosfango." Gordon swallowed hard.

Of course, he knew this guy. The king of the big wild boar group, the monster that hunters had named "The Mighty Warrior".

—The Great Wild Boar King.