Chapter 6: The First Hunt Together
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The Slum Ring was quiet before dawn.
Ren woke to the sound of his own breathing. No dripping today—the roof had finally dried. A miracle.
He sat up. Opened his system screen.
Level: 22. XP: 25/520. JC: 258. Lifespan remaining: 84 years.
Unseen Presence: Active (resting state).
He closed the screen. Stood up. Walked to the door.
The mud paths were empty. The mist was thin today—a good sign. The jungle was calm.
Ren walked toward the Root Ruins gate.
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Rin was at her camp, but she wasn't alone.
Kite, Mica, and Finn were already there, sitting by the fire, eating something that smelled like roasted serpent. They looked up when Ren arrived.
"Shadow boy lives!" Kite said.
"I'm not a shadow boy."
"You're quiet. You're sneaky. You disappear. That's a shadow boy."
Ren sat down across from him. "What are we doing today?"
Rin poured him a cup of tea. "Today, you hunt together."
Kite choked on his meat. "Together? As in... all of us?"
"As in all of you."
Mica raised an eyebrow. "Ren hunts alone. He told us."
"He hunts alone because he doesn't trust anyone. Today, he learns to trust." Rin looked at Ren. "Or at least to tolerate."
Ren stared into his tea. "What are we hunting?"
"Root Serpent pack. There's a nest two miles east. Five serpents. Levels fifteen to twenty."
"Five serpents," Finn said. Her voice was shaky. "That's a lot."
"You'll be fine. Ren will lead."
Ren looked up. "I will?"
"You're the best hunter here. You track. They follow. You kill. They support." Rin smiled. "Simple."
Ren set down his cup. "And if they get in my way?"
"Then you adapt."
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The walk to the nest was slow.
Ren moved through the ruins like a ghost—quiet, careful, invisible. Kite, Mica, and Finn followed behind him, trying to copy his steps.
They were not quiet.
"You're stepping on every branch," Ren whispered.
"I can't see them," Kite whispered back.
"Then feel them."
"That doesn't make sense."
Ren stopped. Turned around. "The jungle is not flat. It has roots, rocks, deadwood. If you can't see them, slow down. Move your feet like this."
He demonstrated. Heel first. Then toe. Then weight.
Kite tried. He stepped on a branch anyway.
Ren sighed. "We're going to die."
Mica laughed quietly. "Probably."
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The nest was in a hollow between two fallen pillars.
Ren spotted it from fifty meters away. The ground was disturbed—scales had dragged through the mud. The smell was strong. Old blood. Old meat.
"Five serpents," he whispered. "Three young. One mature. One elder."
"How can you tell?" Finn asked.
"The tracks. Young serpents have shallow marks. Mature are deeper. Elder has a tail drag." Ren pointed. "See?"
Finn squinted. "I see mud."
"Look closer."
She looked. Her eyes widened. "Oh. I see it."
"Good. Now listen." Ren crouched. "The serpents are sleeping. They'll wake if we're loud. We need to kill them before they wake."
"How?" Kite asked.
Ren pulled out his knife. "Quietly."
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The plan was simple.
Ren would take the elder. Kite would take the mature. Mica and Finn would take the young.
"Wait for my signal," Ren said.
"What's the signal?" Mica asked.
Ren notched an arrow. "This."
He fired.
The arrow struck the elder serpent's eye. The creature convulsed—but didn't scream. Dead before it hit the ground.
System notification.
Root Serpent (Elder) slain. Level 18. +60 XP. +8 JC.
Current XP: 85/520.
Current JC: 266.
"Now," Ren said.
Kite moved. His arrow hit the mature serpent's throat—not fatal, but close. The serpent thrashed. Mica fired. Her arrow hit the same spot. The serpent went still.
Finn was frozen. Her hands were shaking. The young serpents were waking.
"Finn!" Ren shouted.
She didn't move.
Ren ran. His knife was in his hand before he thought about it. The first young serpent lunged—he sidestepped, stabbed it in the skull. Dead.
The second young serpent wrapped around his leg. He dropped his knife, grabbed its head, and twisted. The neck snapped.
The third young serpent tried to flee. Ren picked up his knife and threw it. The blade buried itself in the serpent's spine. It collapsed.
Silence.
Ren stood in the middle of the nest, breathing hard. His leg was bleeding. His hands were covered in blood.
Kite stared at him. "You killed four serpents in ten seconds."
"They were small."
"They were snakes!"
Ren pulled his knife from the third serpent. Wiped it on the grass.
"Finn," he said. "Why didn't you shoot?"
Finn was crying. "I couldn't. I froze. I'm sorry."
Ren looked at her for a long moment. Then he said, "It happens. Next time, don't freeze."
"That's not helpful."
"It's honest."
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The walk back to camp was quiet.
Kite carried the mature serpent's corpse. Mica carried the young ones. Finn carried nothing. Ren carried the elder.
No one spoke.
Rin was waiting by the fire. She looked at their haul—five serpents—and nodded.
"Good. Clean them. We'll eat well tonight."
They worked in silence. Skinned. Gutted. Cut meat from bone.
Finn sat apart from the others, staring at her hands.
Ren sat beside her.
"I froze too," he said.
Finn looked up. "When?"
"Two years ago. The Fog Drinker killed my mentor. I was hiding in a tree. I had an arrow notched. I could have shot it. But I froze."
"Why?"
"Because I was scared. Because I knew if I missed, it would kill me too." Ren looked at the fire. "I still dream about it. Waking up. Drawing the bow. Firing. Hitting. Saving him."
Finn wiped her eyes. "Did you ever forgive yourself?"
"No."
"But you kept hunting."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Ren touched Old Sol's arrowhead on his belt. "Because he would want me to."
Finn was quiet for a moment. Then she nodded. "I'll do better next time."
"I know."
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The serpent meat was good.
Roasted over the fire, seasoned with Dragon Pepper (a pinch—too much would burn their mouths off). Kite ate three portions. Mica ate two. Finn ate one. Ren ate one.
Rin watched them eat. "Tomorrow, we hunt something bigger."
Kite looked up. "Bigger than five serpents?"
"Bigger than one serpent. A Thorn Walker."
Mica choked on her meat. "Thorn Walkers are level fifty!"
"Level forty-eight, actually. And you won't be fighting it. Ren will."
Ren set down his meat. "Me?"
"You need to learn how to fight something that can see through stealth. Thorn Walkers sense sound. Your Unseen Presence won't help."
"How do I kill it?"
"You don't. You trap it. Then you kill it." Rin stood up. "Tonight, I'll teach you how to build a sound trap."
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The sound trap was complicated.
Rin showed Ren how to use silkvine and hollow reeds to create a device that amplified sound—redirecting it away from the hunter.
"The Thorn Walker will hear the trap," she said. "Not you. While it's distracted, you strike."
Ren studied the mechanism. "Where do I strike?"
"The throat. It's the only soft spot. The rest is covered in thorns."
"How many arrows?"
"One. You only get one chance."
Ren looked at the trap. "And if I miss?"
"Then you run."
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The moon was high when Ren walked back to the Slum Ring.
His body ached. His leg was bandaged. His hands were raw from handling silkvine.
But he had learned something today. Not just about traps. About people.
Finn had frozen. He had frozen too, two years ago. But she got up. She kept going.
That's what matters, he thought. Getting up.
He reached his room. The roof was still dry. The straw bed was still damp. The wooden box under the bed held 266 JC.
Ren sat on the bed. Opened his system screen.
Level: 22. XP: 85/520.
Jungle Coins: 266.
Lifespan remaining: 84 years.
Skills improved:
· Team hunting (basic)
· Sound trap construction (basic)
· Leadership (reluctant)
He closed the screen.
Tomorrow, a Thorn Walker. Level forty-eight. I'm level twenty-two.
I'm going to need more than luck.
He lay down. The roof didn't leak.
The jungle breathed outside his window.
Ren closed his eyes.
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End of Chapter 6
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Status Summary (End of Chapter 6)
Attribute Value
Level 22
XP 85/520
Age 20 (turning 21 soon)
Lifespan Total 105 years
Lifespan Remaining 84 years
Jungle Coins 266 JC
Guild ID 47,892
Rank E
Storage Capacity Contents
Storage Pouch 0.5m 14 arrows, 4 healing potions, 2 days dried meat, Old Sol's arrowhead
Storage Belt 1m Serpent meat (10 kg), Razor-Wing feathers (20), 266 JC
Storage Ring (damaged) 0.3m Poisonthorn arrows (3), antidote, maps, Heartleaf (6 leaves), sound trap parts
Total 1.8m
Skills Improved
Team hunting (basic)
Sound trap construction (basic)
Leadership (reluctant)
Knife combat (intermediate → improved)
Recent Kills (This Chapter)
Root Serpent (Elder) — 1 arrow
Root Serpent (Mature) — assisted
Root Serpent (Young) — 3 by knife
Dream Goal Progress
Cost: ~65,000 JC
Current savings: 266 JC
Progress: 0.41%
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