More hunting

9. More hunting

I wake up and rise quickly, the wounds I got two weeks ago from the lopedeer seem to have healed now. I still trained everyday while I was recovering but the amount was a lot less, I used the excess time I had to craft a dagger from the lopedeer horn.

Its length is longer than my other dagger and I even had to cut away from it, so the length was manageable. I also cooked the head of the lopedeer and ate it, the cooked meat was so delicious that I devoured the entire thing leaving nothing left.

The next day I cleaned the skull as I thought it looked cool, I keep it in my chest now. I also moved another meat box to my cage and left the empty one outside the cage, I grab some meat and eat it with water before leaving the cage.

The taste of the freshly cooked meat has been on my mind for the past two weeks and today I am going to get more of it. I grab the sword from the wall and head out of the cave.

The outside looks grey as I step out of the cave, I look up and see the sky is filled with grey clouds. The mist makes it harder to see but I don’t mind it, I head down the river again in search of prey.

The grass under my feet feels wet and slippery but I like the feeling, the atmosphere is soothing, but I shrug away that feeling. I pass the place where I killed the lopedeer, only grey bones remain, some other beasts must have eaten the meat I left behind.

I head down the river, so I won’t get lost, also many beasts use the river to drink so I should find them easier this way. After a short walk I hear a sound, a slow stepping sound.

I see a shape in the mist in front of me, it looks like another lopedeer by the shape, but I can’t be sure. I get closer to it and as I get close enough to see that it is a lopedeer it turns his head and sees me.

I start backing away slowly, I know that I can’t beat it as I am now if I don’t get a surprise attack in before the fight. Lopedeer looks at me for a short while before turning its body and starting to run.

I immediately run to the right into the forest in hope of finding cover, I can’t hope to dodge the charge this time, especially as it is not wounded now. I can see the tree line ahead of me, but the sound of the hoofs is getting closer rapidly.

I throw my sword in the air behind me, so I can run faster and there is a clink sound closer than I expected, I run with all my might behind the tree and I see the lopedeer run past it as soon as I got behind it.

I can see that its antlers are changing quickly into a long horn, even if I hide behind a tree if the lopedeer isn’t running he can just walk up and pierce me with that horn. I need to kill it before it kills me but how, I can’t get under it as it is moving and if it isn’t it will just pierce me with its horn before I get anywhere near it.

It is standing near just watching me, waiting for its antler change into a horn, I need to do something now. I walk next to the tree and hold up the dagger I made from the other lopedeers horn.

The lopedeer starts running toward me with great speed, I watch it run at me until it’s close to hitting me. I dodge behind the tree and stab the dagger to the side of the lopedeer with all my strength.

The dagger just bounces off the hide and flies off somewhere, I hit my left arm in to the body of the running lopedeer and it is completely numb now. I stand next to the tree thinking what I could do but in my mind, I know that I can’t do anything to save myself.

If I tried to run it would catch up in no time and if I tried to evade it behind the trees it would walk around it and pierce me with its horn, even diving in the water wouldn’t save me. At least I don’t think it would.

Well even if it did I couldn’t get to the water in time, the lopedeer is walking toward me and his horn is finished changing. I give up, there is nothing for me to do here. If I just stay still, it should be finished quickly without pain. 

Pain huh? Why am I still afraid of pain? Why would the impossible stop me from trying? Why am I giving up already? Nothing will stop me from living and enjoying it. I don’t care what comes my way I will beat it.

I feel something coming and I quickly crouch down, I hear a loud sound on top of me and I look up and see that the horn pierced the tree behind me. I waste no time and take my dagger from behind my back with my right hand and stab it in lopedeers head from below.

The lopedeer falls to the ground dead and I push its head away from me and stare at the dead body of the lopedeer. I tried to kill it and it tried to kill me, in the end even thought it was stronger it lost because it wasn’t cautious in finishing me off.

I swear that I won’t make the same mistake, I will focus on surviving and nothing else. I start thinking how to get the lopedeer to the cave, it is quite heavy, and my left arm hasn’t recovered completely yet.

I think cutting away its head and coming back for the rest after taking it is the best choice, I go back near the river to look for the sword and thankfully find it quickly. I try to look for the horn dagger too, but I don’t see it and don’t have time to look for it that long, so I just leave it.

I go back to the lopedeer and take my dagger from its head before starting to cut its head off, I carry the head in my left arm and my sword in right hand. Although my left hand is getting soaked with all the blood it is still better than last time where I had to carry it by the horn.

when I reach the cave, I leave the head in the first room and head back to the carcass, after the walk by the river I reach the carcass but there are some massive bugs with wings on it.

I remember Alessa saying that those are mosgreyas, weak beasts that are identified by the grey color, clear wings, long and thin legs and a large needle that it uses to suck blood and mana from its victims.

Although weak if there are many of them they can be fearsome against even a small group but there are still many ways to deal with them and they don’t go outside forests.

I go and swing at them with the sword and they get squashed from the swing. There is purple stuff all over my sword with bits of mosgreyas, she said that they were edible so cutting the meat with this sword is still all right.

As I was about to cut the carcass in half I hear a buzzing sound that was getting louder, I have a bad feeling about that sound, so I stop the cutting and start backing off a bit.

Soon a big swarm of them is on top of the carcass and they envelop it, I watch until they are done with it and the carcass looks a lot smaller after what they did, but it should still be edible.

I go back to the carcass and as I am about to start cutting it again I feel the ground shake and back away from the carcass again, soon I see a huge beast that is walking on all fours and it has fur all over its body.

Alessa said that they were called beras and they are a fierce foe, although on a slower side they are incredibly strong and durable. I bid farewell to the carcass and go back to the cave. 

Chapter eight. Chapter ten.