Episode 5: Child of a Hunter
Well, after living such an eventful life, I ended up dying during my survival days.
Hey, I lived a full life, okay?
There were interactions with the locals, being worshipped as a god-like figure by a tribe, and all sorts of things. Anyway, after that, I lived on that planet, and eventually died of old age.
And now, I’m living a new life. Compared to before, this world has a much lower level of culture. It’s the kind of world where the most advanced tool is a hand-cranked spinning wheel.
My new name is Cladfield. I’m the son of Sieglind, a hunter from Sunrakka Village. A healthy boy of eleven years old.
“Shhh!”
In the forest, I release a handmade arrow from the bow that Aniki passed down to me. The target is a Kick Bird, a relatively weak monster about a meter in size, brown in color, that runs around on two legs and jumps through the branches of trees.
This is the third one today. I’ll take it to Granny and exchange it for food again.
Hmm, what’s this?
“…There’s a strange presence.”
This is the shallow part of the forest near my home, Sunrakka Village. It’s even closer than the middle.
But the forest has become strangely quiet. Is something there?
“I should check it out, just in case.”
There are people stronger than me in the village, but there are times when monsters too strong for them to handle appear.
I need to assess the situation and report back to the village. Depending on the situation, we might have to call back the hunters who are out.
I store the Kick Bird in my Spatial Storage, and with my bow in hand, I head towards the source of the strong presence.
I have to be careful to run near thick trees so I can immediately escape upwards, and moving while trying not to be noticed and paying attention to the wind direction is exhausting.
“Whoa, a Muscle Deer. That’s huge.”
What came into view was a deer monster called a Muscle Deer. Its muscular body, visible even through its fur, is the origin of its name. It’s a herbivorous monster, but it’s ferocious and has a bad personality. It tends to torment creatures smaller than itself, so you often find the corpses of small monsters like Goblins and Kobolds in its wake.
“…Should I take care of it?”
It’s a monster that doesn’t cause problems if it doesn’t see you, despite its personality issues. And it’s not a monster that actively seeks out humans or groups of monsters, so I could leave it alone, but this thing is just so damn delicious.
If you properly bleed it and let it age, the meat is exquisite. It’s also suitable for preserving, so it becomes a winter delicacy.
“The organs are delicious too.”
Not all of them, but some of the organs are edible. Or rather, they’re delicacies that can only be eaten fresh. It takes time to wash them, so some housewives don’t like it, but it’s an irresistible dish for those who know the taste and love alcohol. If I call out in the village, there will definitely be people who will lend a hand. I can already picture a few faces.
“Alright, let’s get started.”
I nock an arrow and release it. The arrow flies near its face, and the Muscle Deer naturally notices and glares at me.
“Come on, come over here.”
“Bumaaaaa!”
The Muscle Deer glares at me with an angry expression. It’s originally a malicious monster. It’s angry because it knows it’s being made fun of by a creature smaller than itself.
“Simple-minded, how nice.”
I cast Body Enhancement Magic on myself and jump onto a tree branch. Then, I guide it along a path that the Muscle Deer can easily follow. This forest is like my garden, so I know exactly where to go.
And when I reach the target point, I stop.
“Bumoouu.”
The Muscle Deer is threatening me with a deep voice. But it’s already cornered.
“Alright, trap activation.”
I cut the rope, and the looped rope rises from the ground, entangling and lifting the Muscle Deer’s hind legs. Now, try to do a handstand.
“But that’s the end of it for you.”
The rope is made from the vines of a plant-type monster that Dad brought back. It’s made from a monster material stronger than the Muscle Deer, so it can’t tear it apart.
Ignoring the Muscle Deer struggling in a panic, I fire three arrows with strings attached into its neck.
“Bumaaaaa!”
I pull the strings to remove the deeply embedded arrows. This is how you bleed it while it’s still alive.
“And then, light the signal fire.”
Even after losing a considerable amount of blood, the Muscle Deer is a strong monster. It won’t die easily, so it needs to be finished off after it’s weakened to a certain extent. Also, if I leave it as it is in this forest, which has a lot of wild animals, it will be eaten by insects, other animals, and monsters.
It’s too big to fit in my Spatial Storage, but I’m keeping that a secret from everyone except my family.
“Oh, I should bleed this one too.”
This is the Kick Bird I secured earlier. Since reinforcements are coming from the village anyway, I’ll process this one as much as I can.
With the Muscle Deer’s screams as background music, I process the Kick Bird. The feathers can be used for arrowheads, but other than the meat, there’s not much else to use from the Kick Bird. Well, you can process the claws into knives, but… knives aren’t consumables, so I have plenty to spare.
“Oh, Claffy, you got a big one again.”
“Oh, Uncle Daz. Phil Aniki and Souka (she) too.”
“This is a big one.”
“Claffy, doing dangerous things alone again.”
Uncle Daz is Dad’s cousin, Phil Aniki is Uncle’s son. Souka (she) is Aniki’s wife. Everyone is a hunter. My family is a family of hunters.
“I got a Kick Bird too. Need the claws?”
“”””We don’t need them.”””
“I figured.”
It seems like every household has plenty.
“Well, take it to Dolly’s place just in case. Everyone checks there first.”
“Roger that. Oh, Phil Aniki, be careful. It’s still alive.”
“Huh? Oh, it is. Should I finish it off?”
“Please.”
“Got it.”
Phil Aniki cleanly cuts off the head of the Muscle Deer with the sword he had hanging at his waist. He’s still got great skill.
“Do it yourself.”
“I don’t have a sword.”
“I keep telling you to carry one.”
“I don’t really want to carry a clattering sword around in the forest. I have a short sword at my waist, though.”
Souka (she) says as she plucks the feathers from the Kick Bird.
“Can we take care of the big one here?”
“Yeah. I’m looking forward to the liver.”
“You’re a connoisseur, kid. I’ll tell your mom.”
“My mom doesn’t really like it. Dad loves it, though.”
“I can’t stand it. I don’t like the texture.”
“Well, a lot of people don’t like it just because it’s offal.”
“It goes so well with alcohol.”
“Take it easy, Anesama. You’re pregnant, even if it’s not showing much.”
“Yes, yes, I know.”
Anesama is pregnant, though it’s not obvious yet. That’s why she shouldn’t be hunting with Dad and the others and should be doing housework in the village… but she probably got bored and came here.
Uncle Daz and Phil Aniki quickly process the Muscle Deer. They’re bigger than me, so they’re more efficient.
“Hmm, is this area still okay?”
I change the location of the traps regularly, but I inevitably end up cycling through similar places. When that happens, the waste from processing the prey also ends up being disposed of in similar places.
“Alright.”
I dig a hole in the ground with Non-Attribute Magic. Earth Attribute Magic would be more efficient, but I can’t use it, so I’m using Non-Attribute Telekinesis as a substitute.
I turn over the soil along with the Muscle Deer’s blood and bury it. If a large amount of blood scent remains, it will affect other creatures, so I have to dig quite deep.
“Still convenient.”
“It’s good that your hands don’t get dirty, right?”
“I don’t think that’s what he means.”
“Listen, Claffy, digging a hole is pretty hard work, you know?”
“That’s true.”
“Bury the head too.”
“Roger that. Put it on the ground.”
I was about to be handed the horned head, but I don’t want to take it because it’s covered in blood.
“Why am I more covered in blood than you, who did the hunting…”
“Want to learn, Phil Aniki? It’s easy.”
“It uses a surprising amount of Magical Power, that.”
Oh, you can already do it?
“Yeah. Honestly, it’s more efficient to move it with Earth Attribute Magic.”
“I can’t use that.”
“Well, can’t be helped. That’s talent.”
“I envy that Dad and Claffy can use magic.”
“I can only make a simple fire.”
“Let’s go home.”
“Huh? Where’s the Magic Bag?”
“That’s right. Did anyone bring it?”
“What about Dad?”
“I thought someone would bring it.”
What do you think I called you for?
“Well, that’s what sons are for.”
“Is that me? Well, I’ll carry it.”
While talking about that, we easily process and clean up the prey. The prey was large, so it took some time, but we completed it without incident. Today, we’re going home early.
If you felt that way even for a moment, please follow the story, leave a star rating and a heart!