Hunting Goes Wrong
After searching the dead bodies of the three horsemen, Caleb Li only found 200 silver coins and 50 copper coins.
He guessed the 200 silver coins must be the money they received to kill him and was yet to spend it.
"This comes at the right time," he grinned as he rushed toward the Dark Forest.
'Who did I want to kill me?' he mused with a deep frown on his face.
The fact that there were people after his life still left him confused.
He had kept a low profile in the village, and with his useless Spirit Root, he didn't even think anyone would be interested in him.
Thinking about it for a bit, he threw the unnecessary thought out of his mind and focused on his mission.
Looking at the eerily Dark Forest right in front of him, he took a deep breath and steeled his resolve.
The Dark Forest was nerve-wrackingly silent. There was little to no light in the forest, and no sound of animals or beasts.
He entered the Dark Forest from the west, following the only narrow path into the forest.
The path he took was the usual route used by the mercenaries.
Holding his breath, he walked silently, trying to make as little noise as possible. His previous experience in the forest was far from good.
His eyes darted back and forth, trying to see anything in the gloom.
He took his bow, nocked it with an arrow, ready to release it. Walking in the Dark Forest with tall ancient trees, thick shrubs on the floor.
Combined with the eerie silence of the forest, it made his palms sweaty. Still, he maintained his composure.
After walking in the Dark Forest periphery for ten or so minutes, he heard a slight rustle in the distance.
The rustle was minuscule, but the forest's silence made it seem loud. He held his breath and rushed toward the sound direction.
Stopping behind a large tree, he looked in the distance and saw an animal, no, a beast.
It was a rabbit, but this was the biggest rabbit he had ever seen in his life.
The rabbit was as big as a goat with a protruding horn at the center of its head. Its two big eyes were deep blue with a dark spot at the center.
The massive rabbit was busy eating, not noticing his arrival from the distance.
'This must be an ordinary-grade Dark Beast,' he thought.
Taking a deep breath, he drew his bowstring, fixating his eyes on the target.
Just as he prepared to let loose of the arrow, the rabbit raised its head and looked in his direction.
Screech!
It made a cry and turned to escape.
'What the hell...' he exclaimed in his heart.
'How did it discover me?'
Even though he was surprised, he recovered quickly and rushed after the rabbit.
The deadly Dark Forest came to life under his feet as he pursued the rabbit. He wouldn't allow his first prey to escape.
From a distance, he saw the rabbit and aimed at it. He had never shot a moving target before, but with the experience of his previous encounters, he believed he could pull it off.
Whoosh!
He let go of the arrow, and the arrow sailed smoothly in the wind.
As the arrow was about to hit the rabbit, the rabbit made a sudden maneuver, jumping to the side.
Bang!
Missed.
Caleb Li realized hunting the Dark Beast won't be as simple as he previously thought.
But that didn't deter him; he was stubborn and believed it was only a matter of time.
He went to pick up his arrow and followed in the direction of the escaped rabbit.
After another couple of minutes, he found another rabbit. He had learned from his previous failure and maintained his breathing.
He stood 40 meters away from the rabbit without letting out his breath.
Whoosh!
He released his shot. The arrow sailed with more precision and force. In a blink, it arrived in front of the rabbit.
The rabbit only had the chance to raise its head when the arrow pierced its head.
"That marks my first kill," he smiled and rushed toward the rabbit.
He picked the rabbit, cut off its two ears. He didn't need the whole body of the beast to complete the mission.
The beast's ears or fangs were enough to show for their reward.
With his first kill, his confidence soared, and he moved confidently in the outer region.
Since he was using a bow and arrow as his weapon, he didn't have to fear any deadly battle with the Dark Beast.
After an hour, he had killed seven ordinary-grade rabbits. As long as he saw his target, they wouldn't be able to avoid his arrow.
With seven kills, he decided to return to the village. Following the path he took into the Dark Forest, he began to retreat.
He was only halfway when he noticed the ground trembling under his feet.
"What's happening?" he creased his brow and looked at his surroundings.
It was then he heard a cry of urgency.
"Run!"
Before he could process what was happening, three burly men covered in blood were rushing toward him at great speed.
'Shit!' he cried and escaped with his greatest speed.
From behind, he heard an intimidating cry of a beast chasing after the three men.
He saw from the corner of his eyes, a three-meter bull with powerful horns chasing after them.
He gnashed his teeth and couldn't help but blame his luck. Pushing himself to the limit, he wanted to outrun the three men and the bull.
It was then he realized instead of outrunning them, the distance between them was getting closer by the seconds.
"Sorry, kid," one of the burly men said as he shot past him.
He was furious and wanted to curse them from the first generation to the tenth but didn't have the energy to do so.
Watching as the second person shot past him, he knew he had to do something.
Instead of continuing on the path, he swayed to the left and rushed deeper into the Dark Forest.
With this, he hoped to escape from the giant bull. He ran for five minutes without stopping, with his chest rising and falling, covered in sweat.
He stopped, gasping for air. He looked behind, trying to detect any traces of the bull but found none.
"That was close." A smile of relief washed over his face.
It was then he realized something was different. He raised his head and looked at the surroundings, discovering this place was far different from the usual Dark Forest.
All the hair on his body stood straight when he found something creeping up his body.