Hunt

The corno ent was a bit hard to describe, It didn't appear like any creature on earth. At least that I knew of. It was six legged and tall, It had no fur and looked frail. It had a single large horn protruding what I think is a head but wasn't quite sure. The horn which looked as if it were made of wood had many holes which the creature used like a musical instrument, being able to make a massive variety of sounds.

The creature itself didn't seem strong but the only problem is that its physiology was incredibly different from the creatures on earth, meaning I had no idea where to attack.

The only tool I had to figure out where to attack was basic psychology. It would naturally defend its vulnerabilities after all and using that I could find where I needed to attack. Much like what happened against the rock monster from the facility.

There was another option to find out as well...

Looking at the corno ent I called for the atlas system to appear.

[Beast corno ent] 

[Spend two mana for analysis] 

I had already spent some mana finding out what it was called but the little cursed critters I had killed had barely netted me anything.

Mana: 1.23

It took and embarrassing amount of time to even gain this much, and finding out the creatures name had cost a fourth of a mana point or whatever unit mana was measured in.

The cost of two mana for a single analysis seemed very excessive so I decided to forgo it and take the risk. I knew I probably shouldn't take risks but honestly I just couldn't be bothered. 

I decided I had enough of stalking my prey, I'd learnt as much as I could already. Going over to the nearby pile of spears I picked up a few before coming back and preparing myself to fight.

I initiated it by throwing one of my spears. It was a bit risky but if it hit a good spot it would make my life so much easier.

It missed.

None the less I charged in, it had already noticed me and decided to lunge towards me. As we drew closer and closer I took away more and more senses. All fairly minor, for example my ability to sense my own feelings was kind of useless in a fight, so I cut it out. 

This wasn't that detached feeling, it was just removing the ability to know how I felt. I still had the emotions but I had no idea what they were.

Plenty of other minor senses were tuned out allowing my other senses to be heightened. Finding what did and didn't count as senses took a while but the combined loss of all these senses was definitely a worthwhile for the enhancement of the senses I needed in the moment.

I could dodge and parry almost effortlessly. The intent of the corno ent was clear, what it wanted to protect and when it would try attack. It was like I could see the future in actuality it was just prediction.

I landed attack after attack but the corno ent was tactful in how it moved ensuring each mistake it made could be easily made up for with a counter attack at the cost of only minor wounds.

Its counter attacks never landed however, and its wounds were mounting. One particular place I attacked had the corno ent try attack much more furiously. Even to the point of placing itself in bad situations in an attempt to dodge.

'Found it.'

I tried to use my acceleration as a way to catch it off guard and stab it's weak spot but it seemed to realise where I was trying to attack right at the exact moment I activated the ability.

It jumped up and away, soaring pretty far into the air before simply landing and running away as far as it could.

I activated my motion sense as I begun to run after it. It was faster then me in traversal by leaps and bounds but I had an advantage. I was human, a persistence predator able to outlast the stamina of any and all creatures. I even had my motion sense to ensure I would never lose track of it. 

This was the annoying part, the long and arduous chase. It ran far and fast but when I knew where it was and when it rested I found it. It ran once more it took several minutes for me to catch up but I did eventually. Again it ran, this cycle repeated for what must have been an hour.

This time when I caught up to it its legs were shaking. The speed and strength it once had were completely gone, I however was just simply a little tired and very annoyed.

'You aren't running this time bastard.'

It tried to run but I was faster. When I stabbed it again it curled up, trying to protect its vitals. but my spear slipped right through, finally killing it.

[You have slain a corno ent which had been cursed to wander in a world which it suffered]

[Touch its body to gain one point four mana]

'Wow that was a lot more then I expected'

I still wasn't quite sure what made a cursed have more or less mana but as a general rule of thumb the larger it was the more mana it could hold. Even that wasn't quite accurate, mana cores for example hold massive amounts of mana but obviously aren't very large. 

You would think that then a stronger creature has more mana but that's not really true either. sure beasts with mana cores are much stronger then those without but outside of that it doesn't seem to have much consistency.

'Wish I could've gotten some meat out of it though.'

Even with the meat supply of a whole squad I didn't have enough to even just have it added to every meal, let alone have it as a meal in itself like the people from before 'the end of the world' did.

As I begun walking back to my camp I thought about just how silly the notion of the end of the world was. I mean I still exist after the end after all and so do plenty of other people. Their idea of hell on earth is just my normal life now.

Arriving at the rope which lead straight up the cliff towards my camp I found myself only now dreading this. I had plenty of stamina left but it was daunting none the less.

Climbing was luckily something I seemed to be really good at but even then I wouldn't dare try climb up the side of a cliff with no practice. Climbing walls were a staple in most fitness centres but I only ever got the chance to experience them in my childhood.

They were fond memories though. My sister and I always found ourselves trying new things when we could. We had few chances to ever do considering the fact we were both orphans but I enjoyed it none the less.

'No nostalgia is just getting to you, she was an absolute demon' 

She was a few years older than me and got unlocked her blessing a long time ago. I haven't heard anything after she entered the divers but I can't see how she would die. Afterall these cruel cullings exterminate the weak and she was far from weak.

'I wonder what she is doing right now. I have had so much on my mind that I've barely thought about her.'

Last I had heard about her must have been eight years ago all the way back when I was nine.

I reached my hammock finally. My arms were burning but not anything too bad. My stamina which had always been good seemed almost limitless now after I had awakened.

Laying down in my hammock I thought back.

'What did she say her blessing was again?'

I had totally forgot. My memory now was perfect but anything before I got my blessing is incredibly fuzzy.

'What will I be killing tomorrow?'

I tried recalling all the signs of cursed in the area but mostly found blanks. That one I killed today was the only one who ventured close to Jebb's territory which wasn't immediately found and killed. I was kind of lost for what to do, I knew I wanted to continue killing cursed though. 

It was the surest path to strength, and to reach the end of this hell I would need all the strength I could get.

While admiring the view once more I saw something moving, It was fast incredibly so and it was giant while still almost being camouflaged with everything around it.

It was an MTV, driving right outside the border of Jebb's territory.