Chapter 13: XIII: True Hunt.
The two boys held their breath as they stared in fear at the creature in front of them, how did it get here? This area wasn't suitable for the survival of such a magical being, that was what the Royal Death Forest was for.
Yes, the Forest of Death was divided into two parts, the part where they were the simplest, where only creatures without much power lived until they evolved and migrated to the deepest part of the forest, where there was a lot of magical power and diverse creatures.
BUT WHAT'S A DAMN OGRE DOING HERE? Unlike our favorite ogre, who was as complex as the layers of an onion, loved his swamp, and didn't want much trouble, the one in front of them was a real magical beast, standing almost 5 meters tall.
Height would not be a problem until you saw the flash of wisdom in his eyes, his body covered only by a loincloth and accompanied by a gigantic mass of wood, he stood before them in all his menacing presence. And how did they get to this point? Let's go back a few hours to find out.
When the boys got up, they prepared a quick breakfast using the leftover meat from yesterday, and well, they would eat meat until they felt numb, but those were the requirements Seone had to follow, he did not choose that path.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but the animals have been getting weirder as we go along," Axel said, pointing out something he'd been thinking about the day before. Still, the euphoria of his conversation with Seone had distracted him, and it was now that those thoughts returned, and he realized something significant.
"Well, I'm not a hunter and this is my first time here, from what I know, this usually happens, don't worry," Seone replied, dismissing the subject, though he was cautious. He was fearless, but not stupid.
"I hope so..." Axel fell silent as the realization dawned on him, and Seone looked at him with annoyance.
"You raised a flag, man," Seone complained, finishing his breakfast and preparing for whatever was to come.
One thing he learned from his father was that words have a certain power and that you should always trust your instincts, premonitions, sixth sense, whatever it is that bites you when something is "happening" or about to happen. When he heard Axel's words just now, he felt his ears getting hot all of a sudden, what did that mean? He didn't know, but when he noticed his partner's obvious flag, he took it seriously.
They were going to continue their hunt, they were already quite deep in the forest and this was just the beginning for both of them, they didn't only need to kill for their respective techniques, but also for the points, they had to get them if they didn't want to die at the end of this battle royale.
So the two went to work, hunting the few animals that appeared, and although they did well, hunting creatures like deer or wild boar, their faces were serious and uncomfortable, it felt wrong, there was something wrong with all of this. Hours passed and they were both resting when they felt the ground vibrating, the leaves of the trees falling as if a terrible creature was approaching, and indeed it was.
Now back to the present, seeing the terrible ogre in front of them, Axel quickly tested the water and realized that the creature in front of him could speak.
"O great ogre, why do you honor us with your presence?" inspired, Axel made a gesture of respect and spoke in a dignified tone, not taking his gaze from the creature's eyes.
"Hmm... loud, you are loud... I could not sleep... a strange temple on earth lured me and did not let me sleep... you disturbed my previous sleep..." his words were hard to understand, but it was clear, he was angry and it was his fault.
"We can leave without disturbing you any further, great ogre," Axel replied, taking a step back, but was interrupted when the creature screamed and shook his body.
"So... hungry," as if it was a demon from hell, its desire for human flesh was very well expressed in its words, releasing a wild and hungry presence from their bodies, this being wanted to kill them, wanted to devour them.
Axel and Seone quickly prepared themselves, the archer preparing three arrows and covering them with silver energy. Seone, for his part, unsheathed his sword and held a spin ball in his left hand.
Away from this continent, the onlookers watching Seone and his party got a bit excited, especially when a strange Dark Souls-like HUD appeared and the boss music started.
"Oh yeah, I love boss fights," said a random powerful being, "let's not focus on that, let's get back to the action.
The huge creature was fast, absurdly fast, it approached them intending to crush them with its mass, something they didn't allow as they dodged the attack. When the weapon hit the ground, however, it was a different story; the resulting shockwave pushed their bodies apart, leaving the ogre, grinning viciously, in the middle.
Seone got up quickly, but his body hurt, he coughed a little to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling in his body, but he knew he was hurt. Just one attack, and a failed one at that, and he was already hurt like that. Axel felt much better, he was much more flexible than Seone and was able to shake off the impact, at the same time he shot his three arrows and stuck them into the ogre's flesh.
You weren't celebrating, you couldn't celebrate when you saw your attack digging into a creature's body and noticed that it barely did any damage. If this were an RPG, we would just see a -1 on the ogre's head and nothing more. They couldn't defeat it alone, they really couldn't, but they had to fight, because it was obvious that they couldn't just run away, that was the stupidest option at this point.
The ogre looked at Seone and as if it had chosen him, it let out a roar as it ran towards the boy, making the earth rumble with its passage. Seone didn't think much of it as he threw his Spin Ball at the ogre, and the very unsuspecting creature didn't fight back when it hit his chest, believing in his defense. But as it turned out, the spin stopped the ogre's furious attack on Seone, if only for a second.
For one second, an attack that could paralyze a human for several minutes only affected the ogre. The creature ignored the arrows stuck in its back as it swung its mass and attacked Seone, who had no choice but to protect himself with his sword, albeit one-handed... Well, this flying Seone explains a lot.
As he flew, his Spin Ball returned to his hand, and in the air, he let the Spin Energy flow through his body to soothe his wounds, especially his arm, which shouldn't be twisted like that. But even with his right arm broken, he didn't let go of his sword, clinging to his weapon.
When he hit a tree and slid down its trunk to the ground, Seone was nearly knocked out, his eyes seeing white and his ears hearing only a ringing sound. Seone soon came when he saw the mass of wood approaching, threatening to crush his body.
But the weapon crashed into his side, the shockwave sending Seone flying again, rolling on the ground, and when he reacted to look at his enemy, he realized that the ogre was not looking at him, but at Axel, who was too far away, lying on the ground and weak to notice. But he sensed something, blood... Fresh red blood oozed from the ogre's arm, a terrible hole in his shoulder, and soon a terrible explosion was heard throughout the forest.
"Sonic Arrow," Seone whispered the name of the attack, it was one of Axel's techniques, an arrow capable of breaking the speed of sound and wreaking havoc in its path, a truly terrifying attack, at least at its current level. Seone could not dodge it, only defend himself, and he could only do it once because, surprise, Axel could do it several times, just like now.
Several arrows pierced the ogre like a hail of bullets, soon followed by sonic blasts that echoed through the forest, making Seone almost deaf as he stood up and healed himself with the Spin. He had to get revenge, he couldn't leave him like this.
Then Seone thought of something, he coated the Spin Ball not only with the energy of the Spin but also with his vitality. The red flame was stirred by the golden energy of the spin, a beautiful sight if you ask me.
"Spin Technique; Cannon," Seone threw his spin ball, and it hit the ogre again, who was weakened by the arrows that had pierced his chest.
The steel ball hit hard, and there was even a terrible cracking sound as the spin ball spun violently inside the ogre's body, emitting 'sparks' of red and golden energy. This attack severely damaged the ogre who was now paralyzed.
If Seone had been stronger or more skilled in spinning, this attack would have done more than just damage by crushing, it would have pierced the monster, or better yet, spread its spinning effect through its skin and organs, making them spin, or pierced through it, opening a terrible hole, turning it into a donut, but that was a long way off, a long way off.
Taking a deep breath, Seone used his senses to perceive not only the ogre but also his companion. He was barely able to do so, but he was taking his first steps. He noticed that the ogre's presence was strong, not for nothing did he have a good ability to resist damage and heal himself. On the other hand, Axel smelled blood his fingers were bleeding, he didn't know, he just assumed it would be the burden of his previous barrage of attacks.
"You struck me earlier... Now it's my turn," Seone declared, shaking his newly recovered body. He had expended a lot of energy healing and would need a good lunch after this, but looking at his healed arm, it was worth it.
If Johnny Joestar could walk, he could heal, right? Seone practiced the healing part of the spin a lot, focusing on using his nutrients rather than the simple raw energy generated by the spin, and so it had the side effect of giving him a terrible hunger, almost enough to eat not one, but three cows.
"So, round two begins," Seone fired at the ogre, who used his mass to block the attack, as his vitality circulated through his body, causing it to emit a faint crimson flame.
He felt it, he was weak, those axe attacks had weakened the creature's strength, but it was still hazardous, he needed to use every ounce of his strength, so he put away his spin ball and used both hands to handle his sword, which was covered with vitality to improve his attack and defense.
Shielded by the occasional arrow from his partner, Seone executed everything he had learned, his sword technique consisting only of slashes, slashes that sought to cut off his enemy's parts with heavy and merciless attacks. Even when he dodged or defended, he countered with his slashes at the ogre.
It wasn't a one-sided exchange, many times he was hit by the mass or fell victim to its shockwave when it hit the ground, but Seone... enjoyed it. He hated monsters, they took away his world, and fighting one, even if not under the best of circumstances, made him feel hatred and anger, but at the same time it generated excitement.
Hearing the ogre's screams of pain when he cut off one of his fingers was wonderful for Seone, even when he took a kick to his body that broke a couple of ribs, he felt it was so worth it. He felt it, the desire to kill, this time it was much clearer than before. He was nowhere near the killer instinct, but it was much clearer to him.
His movements became more fluid as he dove into his sword technique, one made for killing, this time he would use it to end a life, in pursuit of his true survival.
With a crimson glow in his eyes, Seone kicked the ogre in the leg, he had already attacked that limb several times and when he heard the satisfying crunch, he knew his attacks had paid off. Then he turned away from his enemy, glaring at him fiercely.
Both were wounded, both were bloodied, but neither would give up, even though they could barely move, the ogre trying in vain to get up with his wounded leg, only to fall each time. Seone tightened his grip on his weapon, pouring all his energy into it. The glow from his body moved to his weapon, causing it to vibrate. The sword now seemed to become a sword of fire, if only by the effect of Seone's crimson vitality.
His father had told him that only by killing would he truly understand this sword art, and now he understood, at least he understood the first attack.
"First Sword: Pressure," Seone said, gathering his vitality, his strength, his impulse, as well as the understanding of this attack as if it were a declaration, a death sentence towards the ogre.
There was no change around him as the straight slash descended, locked on the ogre before him. But an arc of crimson energy shot from his weapon, slicing through the air and soon the ogre's flesh. There was some resistance until the weight of the attack kicked in, shattering everything and allowing the attack to run its course until it went through several trees and stopped. If you looked closely, there was a thin line in the dirt, or rather a smooth furrow, which was the only thing that proved that this attack had been made.
"Uh, 200 points for that, great. But now I'll have to give the next kill to Axel, hehe". Seone scoffed as he sat down on the ground, he quickly pulled out his spin ball and spun it around, directing the spin energy into his body, he didn't want to heal, he just wanted to hold out until Axel came back, he had all the meat stored up and needed to eat.
"Right, the ogre talked about a temple, that's a place for sure, that'll get us good points... we have to let the others know," Seone remembered, wincing because communication scrolls were damn expensive... and he and Axel only shared one.
"They say the ogre's penis is medicinal," he whispered after remembering this strange tidbit of information and being grateful for his insight not to cut off the ogre's member, at least they'll make money out of it.
"Damn, Axel, you stole it from me," the incoming Axel said jokingly, sitting down next to his companion and quickly pulling out a red bottle and several pieces of smoked meat they had prepared last night, ah, the perks of preparing food off camera.
"The others are yours, I tank," Seone joked, swallowing the potion in one gulp and feeling disgusted by it, even though it tasted like strawberry.
"Damn alchemists and their bloodlust," Seone said a little disgusted, but the benefits of a good potion were there, he felt lighter now, no longer wanting to pass out from wounds. Then he started eating smoked meat without even cooking it.
"Hey, this is the first boss we killed, right? I mean, it's a boss?" asked Axel, pointing at the ogre.
"Maybe a mini-boss, he mentioned that a temple lured him in...typical dungeon," Seone said after swallowing a big mouthful of meat, he wanted to eat more so he went back to gorging himself.
"I'll call the guys," Axel warned.
Oh, soon the team will be reunited and a classic adventure will begin, but the hunt... goes on.
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Sir_Traverse
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