Chapter 8: The Hunt
Hari arrived at the meeting point before sunrise.
He had barely slept.
Every time he closed his eyes, he imagined the wind wolves tearing through the hunting party. Sometimes he saw the hunters running for their lives. Sometimes he saw Joseph falling beneath the alpha's claws. And sometimes, in the worst of those imagined scenes, he saw himself standing in front of a group of grieving villagers, trying to explain why his brilliant plan had failed.
He had wanted to become stronger. He had wanted to complete his mission and obtain the guild building promised by his system.
He had not expected the price of progress to be measured in human lives.
Hari tightened his grip on the spear in his right hand and adjusted the shield strapped to his left arm.
Agnes had given him both the previous evening, after the gathering at her house. When she handed them over, she had not asked him to avenge her husband or demanded that he kill the wolves at any cost.
She had simply told him to survive.
For some reason, those words troubled him more than any demand for revenge would have.
A few minutes later, Joseph appeared with another spear and shield.
"You arrived early," Joseph observed.
"I couldn't sleep."
Joseph looked at the weapons in Hari's hands and nodded.
"Good. Keep them close. We don't know what might happen today."
Other hunters began arriving. Some carried javelins prepared the previous evening. Others brought long wooden spears with iron points fashioned from old kitchen knives.
Hari examined their equipment and felt his heart sink.
Only he and Joseph had proper weapons and shields. The rest of the hunters carried improvised equipment, and several had wooden shields that Joseph had specifically instructed them not to bring.
"Brother Joseph," Hari whispered, "why do they have those things? You told them wooden shields wouldn't protect them from wind blades."
Joseph followed his gaze.
"There is no proper blacksmith in our village. The man who does the work now is a retired hunter. He lost a leg during a hunt, and these days he can only maintain and sharpen the iron tools we already have."
He paused.
"He cannot forge the kind of weapons we need."
Hari looked at the hunters again.
They had spent years defending their families with whatever they could make or repair. They had survived not because they possessed exceptional weapons, but because they had learned to use limited resources carefully.
On Earth, he had taken many ordinary conveniences for granted. Here, even obtaining a decent spear was a challenge.
If I survive this, one of the first things my guild needs is a proper blacksmith, he thought.
Then another thought followed.
Assuming I survive this.
The hunting party set off.
They travelled for six days before reaching the area around Nirvana Mountain. The journey was exhausting, though they encountered only a few small animals along the way. Most fled as soon as they noticed the group.
Hari remembered how long he had wandered through the wilderness alone. Back then, reaching this place had seemed like an impossible achievement. Now he had brought a group of hunters here, hoping to use the mountain as a refuge during the most dangerous hunt of their lives.
When the mountain finally came into view, the hunters slowed down.
Joseph stared at the towering green slopes.
Then he turned to Hari.
"You're saying this is the safe zone?"
"Yes."
Joseph looked back at the mountain.
"We live near here, brother."
Hari blinked.
"..."
"We've known about Nirvana Mountain for years," Joseph continued. "People have stories about it. But knowing that a mountain exists and knowing that dangerous animals cannot enter it are two different things."
Hari rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well, I don't know much about the mountain's history. I only know that I stayed here before, and no mutated animals entered the area where I rested."
Joseph's expression became serious.
"You're basing the safety of our entire village on a few days of experience?"
When Hari did not answer immediately, the other hunters began exchanging uneasy looks.
They had left their homes and travelled for six days because Hari had promised that the mountain could protect them. If he was mistaken, they might have led their families into another trap.
Joseph himself seemed angry, but he did not immediately reprimand Hari.
Instead, he decided to test the claim.
"Wait here," he said.
He moved toward the edge of the mountain's protected area, where a rainbow deer was grazing among the trees.
The deer noticed him and lifted its head.
Joseph approached cautiously, then deliberately made himself appear vulnerable. When the deer began to move away, he followed just enough to draw it into a short pursuit.
The animal suddenly rushed after him.
Joseph turned and ran toward the mountain.
Hari watched, holding his breath.
At the boundary of the safe zone, Joseph crossed into the protected area and looked back.
The rainbow deer slowed.
It took a few hesitant steps forward, then stopped. Its ears flattened, and its body tensed as though it had encountered an invisible barrier. After a moment, it turned and fled.
Joseph waited until it had disappeared into the trees before returning to the group.
He looked at Hari, then at the other hunters.
"The protection is real."
Hari allowed himself a smug smile.
"See? I wasn't making it up."
Joseph ignored the expression.
"I tested the boundary because we need to know where the protection begins. If we can establish the effective distance, we can plan our traps and retreat routes more accurately."
Hari's smile froze.
He had not even considered measuring the boundary.
He had simply discovered a place where the animals did not follow him and concluded that it was safe.
Joseph had taken the same information and immediately found a way to use it.
Are you the real main character, or am I? Hari wondered.
The thought was ridiculous, but it also reminded him of something important. Nobody was perfect. Recognizing his own weaknesses and asking others for help was not a sign of failure. It was the beginning of becoming useful.
Hari had been so focused on being the person with the mission that he had nearly forgotten the value of the people standing beside him.
That evening, Joseph assigned several hunters to prepare javelins and organize the equipment. Others helped establish a temporary camp near the protected boundary.
They ate, discussed the next day's arrangements, and tried to get some rest.
Hari lay awake for a long time.
The mountain stood dark against the night sky, offering shelter from the dangers beyond its boundary. Tomorrow, however, he would have to watch other people walk away from that shelter and face those dangers on his behalf.
Eventually, exhaustion won.
The next morning, Hari woke to the sound of Joseph giving instructions.
"Listen carefully!" Joseph called.
The hunters gathered around him.
"Eight of you will form four teams. Each team will have two people. One person carries the javelins, and the other throws them. Keep fifty metres between each team."
He pointed toward the forest.
"You will follow the main hunting party at a distance. Do not attack until the alpha and the other leading wolves have committed themselves to chasing us. If you throw too early, you may draw the entire pack toward your position."
The eight hunters nodded.
Joseph then turned to another group.
"Billy and I will lead the main party. We'll carry the shields and draw the alpha's attention. We need the wolves to follow us toward the traps."
He looked at Billy, who stood beside him with a shield of his own.
"Hari, give your shield to Billy."
Hari stared at him.
"My shield?"
"Yes."
"But—"
"You'll understand in a moment."
Joseph turned to four more hunters.
"Your job is to carry the javelins and move when the wolves begin chasing us. Stay ahead of the main party when you can, but don't break formation. We need you to attack when the opportunity presents itself, not when you get frightened."
Finally, he pointed to a thin hunter standing near the back.
"You'll mark our route. You're the fastest runner among us, and you know how to read the terrain. If we need to retreat, we must know the way back to the safe zone. Carry a spear for protection, but your main task is to keep us from getting lost."
The hunter nodded firmly.
Joseph looked around at the group, apparently satisfied that everyone understood their duties.
Hari waited for his own assignment.
Nothing came.
He raised a hand.
"What about me?"
Joseph looked at him.
"You're staying here."
For a moment, Hari thought he had misunderstood.
"What do you mean, I'm staying here?"
"This is an important hunt for the village. One mistake could destroy the whole operation. We haven't hunted together before, and we don't know how well you work with this group."
"But I proposed the mission!"
"And you helped us reach the safe zone. That part of your task is done."
Joseph's voice remained calm, but there was no uncertainty in it.
"We know you're strong, but strength isn't the same as teamwork. I won't risk my brother's life—or the lives of these hunters—because we haven't had time to learn how to fight together."
Hari opened his mouth, then closed it.
He wanted to argue. He wanted to remind Joseph that he was the one who had discovered the safe zone and suggested the hunt.
But Joseph was right about one thing: Hari had never fought alongside these people. He barely understood the limits of his own abilities, let alone the fighting styles of fifteen hunters.
A single mistake could get someone killed.
"At least let me come with you," Hari tried again. "I can help if things go wrong."
"We'll build traps near the boundary. You can remain there and watch the retreat route. If any wolves survive the traps and javelins, you may have a chance to help in the final fight."
Joseph handed his shield to Billy.
Then, without giving Hari another opportunity to argue, he turned toward the forest.
The hunters followed.
Hari stood motionless as their figures disappeared among the trees.
He felt useless.
He had come to this world expecting to become a divine employee. Instead, he was an apprentice with zero-star strength, waiting for ordinary people to do the dangerous work while he sat safely behind a mountain's invisible protection.
Yet he knew he had no right to complain.
Joseph was responsible for those hunters. He could not afford to gamble with their lives just to spare Hari's pride.
Hari carried his spear to a large rock near the boundary and sat down.
Please come back alive, he thought.
He waited.
An hour passed.
Then another.
The forest remained quiet, except for the occasional cry of a bird and the rustling of leaves in the wind.
Hari tried to imagine how the hunt was progressing. Perhaps the traps had worked perfectly. Perhaps the wolves had followed the main party exactly as planned. Perhaps the hunters were already returning with proof of victory.
But the longer he waited, the harder it became to believe those comforting possibilities.
His mind returned to the ten hunters who had died fighting only three wolves years earlier.
Then he thought about Billy, carrying Joseph's shield into battle. He thought about the man responsible for marking the retreat route. He thought about the eight hunters who had been ordered to attack from a distance.
Every one of them had a name, a home, and people waiting for them.
Hari pressed his fingers against the shaft of his spear.
I should have gone with them.
The thought came again and again, even though he knew that going with them might have made matters worse.
After several hours, two hunters emerged from the forest.
Hari sprang to his feet.
One of them was supporting the other, whose body sagged against his companion's shoulder.
"What happened?" Hari demanded as he rushed toward them.
"He's been bitten by a yellow-eyed python," the uninjured hunter replied. "We've already applied medicine. He needs rest."
Hari helped them carry the injured man back to the camp. They laid him inside a tent, where he could recover away from the wind and the rough ground.
The man's face was pale, but he was conscious. After checking that he had been made as comfortable as possible, Hari returned with the other hunter to the boundary.
They climbed a large tree that offered a clear view of the forest.
The hunter watched the distant trees while Hari stood below, gripping his spear.
Another two hours passed.
Then the lookout climbed down in a hurry.
"They're coming!"
Hari's heart lurched.
"Where?"
The hunter pointed toward a gap between the trees.
"Get behind the rocks. Be ready for an ambush!"
He moved toward a nearby branch that offered a good position from which to attack approaching enemies. Hari ducked behind a large rock, peering through the gaps between its rough edges.
At first, he saw only movement.
Then several trees shook violently.
Branches snapped. Leaves scattered. Something large was forcing its way through the forest.
The hunters emerged.
The men at the front were carrying someone between them.
Hari leaned forward.
It was Billy.
One of his legs was missing.
Blood streamed from the terrible wound, leaving a dark trail behind the retreating group. Someone else was carrying his shield, and Billy's face had turned ashen from pain and blood loss.
Six wolves followed the hunters through the trees.
Their bodies were streaked with blood. Some limped as they ran, and several appeared badly injured, but they were still moving fast enough to keep up with the humans.
The alpha and another wolf seemed far less affected.
Every few seconds, one of them launched a wind blade.
Hari could not see the attacks clearly. He only saw the air distort before something invisible struck the ground, sliced through branches, or cut into the hunters' clothes and skin.
Joseph used his shield to block the attacks aimed at him. The other hunters struggled to follow his movements. Without proper shields, they had almost no defence.
Fresh cuts appeared across their arms and legs.
Had their senses not been sharpened by years of hunting, some might have lost limbs before reaching the boundary.
"Keep moving!" Joseph shouted.
The retreating party stumbled toward the mountain.
Hari watched the wolves close the distance.
The plan had worked only partially. The traps had injured the pack, but not enough to stop the surviving wolves from pursuing the hunters. Now the group was being driven back toward the safe zone with the alpha still alive.
The moment the hunters reached the boundary, the first wolves crossed the trap line.
A deafening series of explosions shattered the forest's silence.
KACHA—BOOM!
KACHA—BOOM!
The ground shook.
One wolf was thrown sideways. Another disappeared beneath a collapsing trap. A third stumbled into a concealed pit, where sharpened stakes tore through its body.
Three wolves died in the traps.
At almost the same moment, the hunter positioned in the tree launched his attack. His strike hit a wolf already weakened by the explosions, killing it before it could recover.
For one breath, Hari thought they might have won.
Then the alpha raised its head.
The wolf's eyes burned with fury.
It turned toward the hunter in the tree and released a wind blade.
The attack struck the branch.
Wood splintered.
The hunter fell.
Hari heard the terrible crack of breaking bones as the man hit the ground. He landed just outside the protected boundary, close enough that Hari could see him clearly.
The hunter tried to move, but his body barely responded.
The alpha turned toward him.
Joseph saw what was happening.
"Get him!"
Several hunters changed direction and rushed to rescue their fallen companion.
The second surviving wolf moved to intercept them, launching another wind blade that forced the hunters to scatter.
The alpha continued toward the injured man.
Hari gripped his spear.
He could see the fallen hunter trying to crawl away. Every movement seemed to cost him an enormous effort.
The alpha was almost upon him.
Hari knew he could not kill the wolf with a single strike. Its hide, muscles, and strength were far beyond anything he could comfortably handle. Even if he managed to pierce its body, he might not be able to stop it before it attacked him.
But if he did nothing, the injured hunter would die.
Hari waited for the right moment.
The alpha lowered its head, preparing to bite.
Hari moved.
He vaulted over the rock and charged toward the wolf, gripping the spear with both hands. He drove the point into the side of its neck.
The spear penetrated deeply.
For an instant, Hari felt a rush of hope.
Then the weapon stuck.
He pulled, but it would not come free.
The alpha twisted toward him.
Hari had just enough time to see its jaws open.
The wolf lunged.
Hari threw his body sideways, trying to avoid the full force of the attack. Teeth sank into his right shoulder.
Pain exploded through his body.
He felt as though someone had driven a red-hot blade into his flesh. His right arm went numb, and his fingers lost their grip on the spear.
The wolf's weight drove him toward the ground.
Hari struck at its head with his left fist.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
The blows barely seemed to affect it.
The wolf's jaws tightened around his shoulder, and for a moment Hari could think of nothing except the pain. He could not feel his right hand. His spear remained lodged in the wolf's neck, useless to him.
So this is how I die?
The thought flashed through his mind.
He had survived the mountain, the rainbow deer, the red-eyed rabbit, and the lone wind wolf. He had crossed the wilderness and found a human settlement. He had finally discovered a path toward completing his mission.
And now, after all that, he was going to be killed by the same kind of monster he had been trying to help the village defeat.
No.
Hari clenched his left fist and struck the wolf's head again.
He would not give up.
He could not let the injured hunter die. He could not abandon the people who had trusted him. And he certainly could not allow his life to end here, with his divine employee system barely activated.
He kept punching.
The struggle lasted only seconds, though it felt much longer to Hari.
Then the wolf's body suddenly went slack.
Its jaws loosened.
Hari collapsed beside it, gasping for breath.
The alpha was dead.
For a moment, he could do nothing except stare at the enormous creature lying beside him. His shoulder throbbed, and blood soaked his clothes, but the wolf no longer moved.
Everything had happened so quickly that he struggled to understand how he was still alive.
Nearby, Joseph and the other hunters had managed to kill the second wolf.
With the alpha dead and the surviving attackers defeated, the immediate danger finally passed.
" Hari! Are you all right?"
Joseph rushed toward him and pulled the dead wolf away from his body. He helped Hari to his feet, supporting him as they moved into the protected area.
"Your shoulder—"
"I noticed," Hari muttered through clenched teeth.
He tried to laugh, but the movement sent another wave of pain through his body.
Joseph helped him to the tent and called for the hunters who knew how to treat injuries. They cleaned and bandaged Hari's shoulder as carefully as they could.
Only after the bleeding had been brought under control did Hari look around.
"How about the others? The hunters who stayed behind to attack the pack?"
Joseph's expression softened.
"Don't worry. They remained farther back to deal with the wolves that didn't follow us. Most of those were old or young. They should be returning soon."
Hari exhaled slowly.
He had been so focused on the alpha that he had almost forgotten about the other teams.
An hour later, the remaining hunters returned. They had suffered no serious injuries, and their arrival brought a wave of relief to the camp.
The hunt was over.
The wolves that had threatened the village had been defeated, and the hunters who had gone into the forest had returned alive—though not without a terrible cost.
Hari leaned back, exhausted. His right shoulder still hurt, and every breath reminded him how close he had come to dying.
Then a familiar sound rang through his mind.
DING!
A blue screen appeared before his eyes.
CONGRATULATIONS!
SIDE MISSION COMPLETED.
Hari stared at the message.
He had survived the hunt. The alpha was dead. The system had finally acknowledged his success.
But as he looked toward the hunters, he could not bring himself to celebrate yet.
They had won.
And he had learned just how much a victory could cost.