Chapter 16: Passing on the Craft
Chapter 16: Passing on the Craft
"To be a hunter is to be one with nature. Understand what is around you, and remember it as if it was your name because one day, your environment will play the deciding factor in whether you return home or not." A duo, a father and his son were hiding in the bushes of an Asylk plant. The father carefully guided his son in the way of a hunter while passing on all of the knowledge he learned through his life without holding back.
"I see, so If I want to be a good hunter, I must blend in with the environment, right?" The son asked his father, hungry for knowledge, how to improve his skills.
Feeling quite happy with his son, he smiled and replied, "Correct, I knew you were a genius since the first moment I saw you. Your mother told me that it was dangerous for my six years old child to hunt. So, I told her that she shouldn't compare you to those foolish children from the village who needed to get to eight years old to chase their prey. Do you know that coward Ma Roin? He waited until his son reached eleven years old to hunt?"
The son didn't want his father to talk about irrelevant things, so he tried to redirect the conversation back to the art of hunting, asking his father, "You still didn't tell me about the use of this green gooey substance that you told me to cover my whole body with?"
"Ahem, it seems that you can't appreciate this treasure that I gave you. Fine, Allow your old man to impart his knowledge on the significance of the substance that you refer to as "gooey."" The old man ignored the fact that just two seconds ago, he was complimenting his son on his brilliance. And now he started lecturing Tom on the substance out of nowhere. "I call this substance by the snakeskin. It has the effect of hiding your body smell from your prey so that if you hide in a bush like what we are doing, the prey won't smell you as easily. In addition to that, it can protect your body from the heat of the red ball."
"I didn't expect that this substance was so useful." Tom was quite happy to learn that he had an alternative to sunscreen in this world. Since he came from a technologically advanced world, he knew better than anyone else the danger that standing under the sun for long hours can cause to the human body.
Hearing the answer his son gave, Tian Chang seemed somewhat disappointed by it. "Aren't you going to ask me how I made it?"
"I didn't think I would need to ask you since I knew that you were going to explain it anyway," Tom replied with an answer that he thought was perfect. He used the understanding he got of his so-called father through the past couple of years.
"Not bad, you know me better than anyone else. I think you might even know me better than your mother. Of course, don't tell her that." Tian Chang seemed happy to know that his son had such a deep understanding of him, thinking that it was caused by the deep affection his son held for himself. He continued on with his explanation after saying, "This substance is crafted through crashing a Red Rosemelt flower with the pee of a Derek after you made sure that the two got mixed together perfectly, add a couple of pieces of a crystal head worm to it, and let it set in a cold space for ten hours."
After this explanation, the father looked at his son's reaction only to find him excited about all the potential uses he could exploit this snake skin for. He didn't show any sign of disgust at the fact that he had just applied pee and worms to his body.
"Don't you feel disgusted that I used pee in it?" Tian Chang wanted to understand why his son didn't act like any other average child, not showing any sign of disgust.
"Weren't you the one that told me that I should be one with nature? If I actually want to be one with nature, then I must use all the elements that nature offers without holding back because of any prejudice against things that would make me feel disgusted." Tom honestly didn't mind going through a mountain of shit if it meant that he would become stronger.
Tian Chang seemed entirely and utterly surprised by the answer given by his son "I always thought that you were a genius, but after hearing your answer, I now know that the son of I, Tian Chang, will not simply be the greatest hunter of all time, but you will become one of the greatest men. I am sure of it that in the future, simply hearing your name will make the hearts of all shake. I wasn't wrong when I named you Tian Long."
"I am not sure if I will ever reach that level of fame, but If I do, I will be sure that the name of Tian Chang, the father of the greatest, becomes known throughout the land." Tom didn't really want to make the hearts of people shake; however, he needed to keep the act of the good child, or else his plans might become in jeopardy.
Tian Chang felt a little teary after hearing his son's proclamation; however, he didn't let that show up on his face; Thus, he changed the topic back to the hunt. "Will, if you want to become a great hunter, you need to kill your first animal by yourself. Today you are going to hunt a Hare."
Unbeknownst to Tian Chang, his son had already ended a life. However, the life he took wasn't that of an animal. Instead, it was the life of a human, and that human wasn't any human. It was...
Tian Chang took a deep breath and began to delve into the complex aspects of the hunter's mindset. "During a hunt, one must carefully consider the myriad factors he will face before making a choice. Firstly, evaluate your prey. Will it fit within the confines of a trap, or do you have the ability to bring it down with an arrow? Assess whether it may pose any threat to you. Secondly, what types of skills do you have in your inventory? Do you possess the skill to set up a trap that will attract and seal the animal for good, or do you have the capability to shoot a moving animal? Thirdly, consider the time. If it's nighttime, then most animals will return to their hiding places. This can be both a curse and a gift. A hunter well-versed in the way of the night can use it as a cape by blending into the darkness; He can become nearly invisible. Those hunters can utilize the heavens as their guide. Lastly, ponder your surroundings. Different locations yield different reactions by the animal towards you."
"So, now, using all of the information available to you, how are you planning to conduct the hunt?" Asked Tian Chang.
"Since I lack the skills to even shoot a non-moving object, even more so a hare while it's moving around, I will exclude using a Bow," Tom explained his thought process out loud so that Tian Chang would fix any mistake he made.
"Not bad understanding your strong and weak points is a skill that many hunters lack. Some hunters overestimate themselves, which leads them to their demise. You may continue." Said Tian Chang with a smile on his face.
After thinking for a few seconds, Tom continued, "I obviously can't catch a Hare with my current speed, so the best option available would be for me to set up a trap that would attract it."
Clapping his hands, Tian Chang said, "Well, you seem to have the knowledge part of hunting nailed down, but I want to know if you have the skill to set up a trap to catch it? Oh, and I will tell you from now on that this Hare will be your dinner, so if you don't catch it, you will have nothing to eat."
After hearing that, Tom looked around. He glanced left and right as if he was searching for something.
"Found it," he said while climbing over a tree.
After picking something from the tree, Tom climbed down and began collecting a heap of old, dried sticks. He also added a pile of leaves to the mix, resulting in a small mountain of sticks and leaves.
"What are you going to use this for?" Asked Tian Chang.
Tom didn't want to waste time explaining his plan, so he said, "You will see."
Connecting the sticks of wood together into the shape of a basket, Tom made a basket trap like the ones he saw in movies back on Aetheria. After he finished making that, he added a couple of apples that he got from the tree and put them under it.
Tom called out for Tian Chang to hide with him in the bushes. Tian Chang obeyed and headed toward the bushes with a slight smirk on his face.
The two of them waited for a Hare. However, the hours passed. And there was no Hare in sight. Tom seemed confused, not understanding what was going on.
Looking at the sky and noticing that the time started to get late, Tian Chang spoke, "Do you know what you did wrong?"
"No," Tom answered. After all, if he knew what was wrong with the trap, he would have fixed it directly.
"One, how do you expect the Hares to notice the apples if they can't smell it? Two, while your trap is genius, Even if a Hare gets caught in your trap, it will be able to escape from it with ease because of the basket weight." Tian Chang used his years of experience to show Tom his mistakes.
Hearing that, Tom gathered a couple of rocks and put them above the basket so that once they fell, the weight of the stones would make it impossible for the Hare to get away. After he did that, he crushed a couple of the apples letting their aroma spread threw the air. He then returned to the bush and hid himself.
The minutes passed, and after fifteen minutes, Tom saw it; a Hare was walking willingly into his trap. The Hare was suspicious of the apples lying around. It started by smelling them carefully and then going around searching if there was any other animal around. Unable to smell Tom because of the snake skin, it launched itself at the apples.
"Crack"
The basket closed down on it, sealing its fate as the dinner for Tom.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Slumbering_Dragon_
Slumbering_Dragon_ As you continue to learn the ways of the hunter from Tian Chang, you encounter challenges in setting up your first trap. However, you quickly adapt and correct your mistakes. How will you continue to improve your hunting skills and overcome future challenges? Will you seek further guidance from your father, try out new trapping techniques, or explore other aspects of hunting? Additionally, how will you apply the lessons learned from this experience to your future endeavors?
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