Chapter 1

"Why is this happening to me!" Owen thought as he ran through the brush. He had just started his training to be a Bounty Hunter. His Master started him off with survival training. He was sent to the High Woodlands, where he happened to walk into a bandit campsite.

As soon as he locked eyes with the bandits, he turned tail and sprinted in the opposite direction. He felt that there's no reason for them to care about a young man finding their camp, but to his surprise, they all got up and started chasing him! Since it was close to getting dark, it was getting harder and harder to see. Owen almost tripped several times as he ran. He glanced behind him to know where the bandits were and felt the ground give out beneath him.

Owen would've screamed if he had the breath but instead made a grunt as he fell and hit the cold, wet ground. Owen felt around his body to see if anything was broken and was relieved to feel relatively unhurt. He looked up to see how far he fell, but it was so dark Owen couldn't make out the hole he made as he fell through.

"Where did that brat get to!" Owen heard a male voice yell from above him through the hole.

"He just disappeared! His tracks end around this tree."

As the other voice responded, he saw torchlight appear in the hole he just fell through. It seemed to be around three meters from the ground. Tree roots are keeping the earth compact around him, and the ground was wet. He could see the whole cave with the torchlight and saw it wasn't very big around, but deep. Owen noticed the hole looks like it was just big enough to let him through since he was relatively small compared to his friends growing up.

Judging from what the bandit said, the hole must be between the roots of a large tree and would be hard to spot in the late evening.

"No way he recognized us anyways, might as well get back to camp and move at dawn. No way that kid could get to town, find help, and get back here before then."

Owen heard sounds of agreement from the other bandits to those words and saw the torchlight move away from the hole. Engulfed in the dark again, Owen breathed a sigh of relief and knew he had gotten away.

Now that Owen had some time to think, he realized that he wasn't out of the woods yet, figuratively and literally. He took inventory in his mind. A cloak to keep out the elements, flint to build a fire, a hatchet for wood, a knife for cutting meat, and an unstrung bow with arrows in his quiver. He also had some jerky and stale bread in his satchel, as well as a water bag.

With the inventory complete, he thought of what his Master has taught him and came up with nothing. The very first mission his Master gave him was this survival mission, probably to make sure he wasn't soft enough to quit after a few days of hard living. As Owen thought of what to do next, he felt a presence in the cave with him.

Owen immediately slowed his breathing and held as still as he could, just like he did while hunting for his village growing up.

"Ah, finally, someone has fallen in this god-forsaken hole!" A ghostly figure appeared in front of Owen, and he immediately threw a punch at it.

"Woah there, kid! I come in peace! Stop swinging at me!" yelled the ghost. Owen was in the middle of a combo he learned as a kid when he realized that the punches were going right through his opponent and not doing any damage at all! Realizing that, he decided to ask, "What are you?"

"I, my little friend, am a master of mystical martial arts from the far east! I can offer you all my knowledge and techniques. All I need in return is a steady supply of monster cores. Great deal if I do say so myself!" said the Ghostly figure while stroking his beard.

Owen took a closer look at the floating figure and saw he was wearing long robes and a weird hat. Long Beard and hair draped over his robes and looked well built for an older man. He was transparent on closer inspection and looked to be in his late fifties. He seems like a master to me, he thought.

"What's your name? I'm Owen." he volunteered. His parents always told him to give his name when asking for someone else's.

"Ah, well young Owen, you can call me Master Heavenly Eagle of the Soaring Eagle Sect," answered the ghost.

"Umm, I'm just going to call you Eagle than," Owen said after hearing all the titles.

"At least call me Master Eagle!"

"But I haven't decided to be your student yet."

"Why not?! Why Hesitate?"

"Well, I want to be a Bounty Hunter, and I already have a Master. I don't know anything about any heavenly stuff."

"What is a bounty hunter in this world?"

In this world? What does Eagle mean by that? Owen wondered as he thought about Eagle's offer. Does that mean he isn't from the far east? Owen still decided to answer him. "A Bounty Hunter is a part of the Bounty Hunter Association. They take missions varying in difficulty and, once completed, get rewarded. Usually, missions include capturing wanted criminals or hunting dangerous monsters."

"I see. I know plenty of forms and techniques that can help you in this. All you have to do is find the ring buried somewhere near your feet. Putting it on will bind me to you and will also be an acknowledgment from you to be my student."

Owen thought for a long while before thinking, what's the worse that can happen? He dug around the ground slightly and quickly found a plain silver ring buried a couple of centimeters in the dirt. After hesitating, he committed to putting the ring on, and from there, his life changed forever.