Surviving

When looking up to the highest branches of that tree, Ares could see a hive that was emitting a buzz sound. It was in a good position, right above the wolves that were trying to climb up the tree where he was.

'Finally... something that can save me...', he felt like his entire body nearly collapsed out of relief once he saw that thing. It was his first shred of hope after an entire day running from wolves, after all. He nearly laughed upon seeing that an ordinary hive would be his salvation.

The boy utilized the last remnant of energy in his body to hit that hive with the heavy battle-axe that he inherited from his father. He needed to do a proper swing, one that wouldn't make him fall from the tree, but that wasn't too weak either, or else the hive wouldn't fall.

He tried one first swing with his weapon, but it missed by inches and he nearly lost his balance. Once he saw his body leaning forward too much, Ares' blood drained from his face and he held his breath, leaning backward again.

'Damn it!' He cursed after successfully regaining his balance and sighing hard.

'I can't let myself down because of it. I need to keep trying!'

With determination, Ares tried another time, and yet a third one until he could finally hit the hive and make it fall right on the face of the wolf who was climbing the tree.

Not even a minute after, the entire pack began to cry in pain due to the hundreds of bees attacking them.

Ares didn't lose time and jumped out of the tree. Once he landed on the ground, he felt one of his ankles snapping. There was something wrong with it, but he didn't pay attention at that moment and kicked the ground, starting to run like crazy.

One of the wolves didn't get distracted by the bees and furiously chased after him. His mind was getting overwhelmed by the painful feeling of the bees' stings, but it was decided to catch the boy who made them suffer so much.

Of course, Ares wasn't as fast as a wolf, even if the latter was struggling even to run at that point.

The boy wasn't able to run away from him. It was humanely impossible.

'However...' Ares thought, stopping to run suddenly. His right feet sunk into the earth as he skidded until his body lost momentum. This time, a crack was heard, and Ares was sure that his ankle broke in the process.

'If I cannot run away from you, then I won't do it!' He used his body weight to support his arms to swing the axe.

In perfect timing, the weapon made a wide bow in the air and struck the wolf in his neck. The cut wasn't clean at all. Ares didn't have much practice with a heavy weapon like the battle-axe. The wolf continued to struggle for a whole minute before he stopped to move, running out of energy.

It wasn't dead yet but would die from bleeding soon.

'It's better not to stay much more time here to finish this wolf. The best choice is to run...' He tried to dash forward, but his right ankle protested in pain.

The boy kneeled on the ground, gritting his teeth not to scream out of pain.

'Keep fighting... Keep going forward... Please!' He propelled his body forward. Not a long stride, but a short one.

He kept going, step after step, centimeter after centimeter, trying to make his way until his objectives.

No matter if he was still on the deepest bottom, or if he was struggling against a mere wolf. Ares didn't take any of his steps lightly. For him, each grain of effort was meaningful, each meter covered was important, and each swing he made with his battle-axe would matter in the end.

This way, he walked and walked, until he couldn't walk anymore and collapsed on the ground.

...

Two weeks after the incident with the wolves, Ares was hidden inside a grotto. It was a wet and uncomfortable place, where he couldn't find any position where he could settle.

It was like torture because he couldn't find a way to sleep, even though he was so exhausted.

His body was on alert because many dangers could come from the forest, even though it was raining hard out there.

'I should have had hidden inside another grotto... But how could I hella know where I would find a good place to stay!? At least, I have more time to rest right now, and that's what matters. Also, this place isn't easily accessible for other predators, so I will be ok.'

At that moment, Ares was taking advantage of his difficulty to sleep by using his time in idleness to take care of his battle-axe.

'Apparently, because of the runes that are written on it, the endurance of the blade is far better than any other that I have ever seen before. In these last two weeks, I have been hunting most of the time as I walk on my path to my next objective. Anyway, the blade isn't getting any worse as time passes.'

He was amazed by the power that those runes gave to the battle-axe alone. He wanted to learn how to use it in his own body, but he had no clue from where to start.

'If only I could use Mana...' he looked at his hands, somewhat disappointed. 'Things would be easier if I could. However, I still have one year to go or so. I don't think that this is the case, but I may have my Awakening later than the average person.'

He was quite disappointed due to his lack of talent. He wanted to Awaken as fast as possible, just like his grandfather did. He was hoping that it would happen when he reached thirteen years old, but it wasn't the case.

'Anyway, things will go more smoothly once I can get to my objective: the Military Academy. There, I won't only get my license to become a Beast Hunter, but I will also learn everything that I need to get stronger. If I can reach this goal, I will have half the way done already.'