Chapter 13: The Hunters Test 1

  Tssff… tssff…

  The grass crunched softly beneath their boots as they walked. The forest was not that dense but tricky enough to stumble upon roots.

  “Alright.” Aspen stopped and looked at Ryl.

  “I’ll head East and you go North.”

  He nodded and took two steps before—

  “Wait!” Aspen called.

  “Where's your dagger?”

  Ryl stared at his empty hands… and froze.

  “...I forgot.”

  Aspen sighed. “Really?”

  Ryl flexed his lean arm, puffing his chest. “Don't worry!! I’ll be fine.”

  “Take mine.” he handed him his dagger.

  “I will use my father's.”

  “You bought his dagger?”

  “Yes. He forgot about it already. And it was my first dagger, so… I kept it as a memory.”

  “Okay! Then I will defeat at least thirty beasts!!” Ryl said, stretching out his legs.

  “You’re not scared now?”

  “Scared? Me?” Ryl scoffed.

  “It's never in my past and neither will it be in the future.”

  Then he smirked.

  “And I promised a date with my girl~”

  Aspen just stared. “Didn't she say ‘in your dreams’?”

  “Oooh Aspen…” Ryl turned dramatically.

  “I know you’re jealous. You are not as handsome as me. You have that white hair for nothing. I can kill tons—”

  Aspen blinked slowly, turned and walked away in mid-sentence.

  “—of beasts with this single hand even this dagger is unnecessary. You just wait and see, I will come in the first place. And then a lot of girls—”

  Ryl turned and froze.

  “……”

  Three seconds of silence.

  His face became red as a tomato.

  “AS—PEN! You little— when did he go!!? ”

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  _ _ _

  “He was bragging again…”

  Aspen muttered, taking out his orb, pointing it around as it flickered white.

  He followed the pull through some bushes and peeked through.

  There were a lot of Sting Moths flying in the air.

  [ STING MOTH : Low-rank beast. Live in groups. Attacks with the poisonous sting on its head. ]

  “They're low-ranked, and they are fifteen. It will be easy.”

  He drew his dagger and finished them cleanly.

  “Perfect.” Mumbling, he collected the dropped mineral stones.

  Then—

  “Aaaaahhhh!”

  Someone screamed.

  Aspen was alerted and sprinted towards the sound.

  A girl was fighting bare-handed with a Goblin. Her ash hair was tied in a side-high short ponytail with bangs, and her green eyes blazed with fury.

  [ GOBLIN : Low-rank beast. Dumb, human-like creatures. Use wooden clubs. Live in small villages and hunt small animals. ]

  “HOW DARE YOU TEAR MY SLEEVE!!!” she yelled.

  “This was my favourite dress!!”

  The goblin grinned ignoring her and approached.

  “If you take one more step, I swear I’ll punch you!!”

  It didn't care.

  It charged.

  Her reflexes kicked in as she punched it in the face, kicked and sent it flying into a tree.

  Thud!

  “See! Told you not to come close!!” she said, hands placed on her hips.

  The Goblin staggered up again.

  “You want anoth—”

  Before she could complete, she tripped on a rock and fell on her back.

  The goblin reached her and raised its club.

  “Ekk!” She squeezed her eyes shut.

  Then—

  Slash!

  The Goblin’s head fell and disintegrated, leaving a stone.

  She stared at him, eyes widened without a blink.

  It was Aspen.

  He turned and saw her frightened as he smiled softly.

  A breeze suddenly swept across. His hair shimmered like silver, fluttering dramatically in slow motion. A melody tone played absolutely from nowhere.

  “Are you alright, my princess?” he asked in a dreamy voice, kneeling with a charming smile.

  She gazed down shyly. “Yes… my prince…”

  Then he gently lifted her chin, meeting their eyes.

  Bells chimed.

  “Oi! Can you hear me!?” Aspen's voice echoed low.

  _ _ _

  Aspen saw her eyes closed, a strange smile on her face.

  “Hello? Are you alright?”

  Her daydream shattered.

  “Huh?”

  She rubbed her eyes and looked again—properly this time.

  Aspen was kneeling in front of her, but only to check on her condition.

  “Are you okay?”

  “My prince!!” She sprang to her feet.

  Aspen nearly toppled over.

  “…Prince?”

  He glanced around, confused, then pointed at himself.

  She grabbed his hand, her eyes sparkling like stars.

  “Yes!! You saved me!!”

  Aspen smiled gently. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

  Blast!

  Her heart detonated.

  “He smiled…

  HE SMILED AT ME.

  So gentle. So kind. So heroic.

  This is it. This is fate.

  Mother was right—I WOULD meet him in danger—”

  “You don’t have any weapon,” Aspen said.

  He scanned the area, picked up the goblin’s wooden club, and placed it in her hands.

  “Take this. It’s better than fighting bare-handed.”

  The orchestra inside her mind went wild.

  “He’s worried about me!!

  He gave me a weapon!!

  That’s basically a proposal, right?!

  Oh no—my heart—

  I can already see our future—”

  “And listen,” he added calmly, slicing straight through her fantasy,

  “Since I killed it, the stone is mine.”

  The music record scratched violently.

  “…Eeh?”

  Aspen took the stone, stood up, and walked away without a second glance.

  She stood frozen, holding the club.

  “…So this is heartbreak.”

  “Now it's sixteen. I’ve completed the required amount—”

  “Wait!” She ran up towards him, panting.

  “I’ve told you. It's mine.” Aspen replied.

  “You can keep it! Just tell me your name.”

  “Ah… it's As–Aren!”

  “And my name is Ellie Audrey. Call me Ellie!”

  _ _ _

  Ryl wandered lazily through the area, tossing his stone pouch up and down.

  “I’ve collected eight… and I challenged Aspen to thirty… so that means I need… wait—”

  He stopped mid-step.

  “If I have eight… then I need…”

  He stared at his fingers and began counting—slowly.

  Very slowly.

  One finger.

  Two fingers.

  He restarted.

  Again.

  After several painfull long minutes passed…

  “AAAAAAHHHH!!!” He yanked his hair in frustration.

  “IT’S HARD!!!”

  “Hey. Stop nagging and hand over the stones.”

  A low voice came from somewhere nearby.

  Ryl followed the sound.

  Ahead, two participants had pinned a boy between them, swiftly snatching his pouch.

  Ryl peeked at them from behind a tree.

  “Oh! Isn’t he the guy who bumped into me earlier? What was his name again…?”

  “Not many,” the bulky one muttered, weighing the pouch.

  “Tch. Fine. Let him go.”

  They shoved the boy aside and walked off.

  Ryl rushed over immediately.

  “Why did you just let them take your stones?!”

  The boy ignored him, calmly adjusting his chest guard before picking up his bow.

  Ryl cracked his knuckles dramatically.

  “Don’t worry! I’ll beat them up and get it back!!”

  “They’re pebbles,” the boy said flatly.

  “…Huh?”

  “Are you deaf?” He tested his bowstring.

  “I said they were pebbles.”

  Ryl stared at him.

  The boy glanced at him, eyes sharp. “What?”

  A chill ran down Ryl’s spine. “N-nothing!!”

  “Then leave,” the boy said indifferently.

  “Only three hours left.”

  Saying that, he vanished into the woods.

  Ryl was left behind, standing there, blinking. “…Weird guy,”

  “Whatever!!” He looked back at his fingers again.

  “Now… where was I—”

  A soft rustle came from the bushes.

  Ryl turned.

  And froze.

  *****

  Chapter 14: The Hunters Test 2