IBMAW 15

Chapter 15

The Hunter

The smell of blood still lingered on the rock. The surrounding area was the same. Though someone had clumsily tried to erase the traces of a beast, it was no more than child’s play. To a hunter, it was obvious what had happened.

He found it strange. If this much trace remained, it must have been a fairly large animal. Not something small like a rabbit.

But could a man without a bow or spear catch such a large beast? Absolutely impossible. Even an experienced professional hunter would find it difficult to hunt a large animal alone in a single day.

Moreover, the big man’s hands had never even held a bow, let alone a sword. He wondered if there might be an accomplice. Strangers were always something to be wary of.

So he hid himself and watched for a while—but there was no sign of any other man in the cabin. Only the big man.

“…”

Gus’s gaze shifted to the man’s hand. There was a wound there that hadn’t been present when they parted yesterday.

That is…

The torn flesh and the deep teeth marks embedded in it were unmistakably from a wolf. He had seen such wounds many times before—there was no way he was mistaken.

But what truly caught Gus’s attention was not the wound itself.

It was the fact that it was already healing.

The cross-section of the wound, deep enough to expose bone, was already recovering.

Impossible.

He had seen many people bitten by beasts, but never had he seen a wound like that clean up within a single day. Injuries that severe usually led to fever and delirium before death.

A wolf bite might look simple on the surface, but internally it was typically severely torn. A wound deep enough to expose bone would normally damage blood vessels and muscles alike. A person wouldn’t be able to move normally like that man before him.

If there was any possibility, there was only one.

Could this man… be a mage? And a very rare one at that?

A mage appearing in a place like this was unthinkable. But if he really was a mage…

It felt as though a door that had long ago closed right before his eyes had been twisted open again.

There were mages in this world—people ordinary folk rarely ever encountered. Gus himself had only heard of them, never met one.

Some mages used fire. Others used water. He had even heard of those who controlled the wind.

And very rarely, there were those who could use healing magic.

If this man truly is a mage…

Gus lowered his head, hiding his expression.

An opportunity has come.

Perhaps he could take revenge. A chance he thought would never come until the day he died had finally appeared.

A smile spread across Gus’s otherwise expressionless face.

Young people often think that old men were always old—stubborn and set in their ways. But even old men had once been boys, and later strong young men. Gus, too, had once had a youth filled with hope.

From the moment he was born, he had likely been destined to become a hunter. By the time he was old enough to understand things, he was already climbing mountains alongside his hunter father.

The mountains felt more comfortable than flat land. He believed he could become a better hunter than anyone else. Based on that skill, he dreamed of one day becoming a close retainer of the lord. That was his wish.

Forest wardens who managed lands owned by nobles received various benefits, but in return were obligated to serve in war for a certain period. If one earned merit in battle, becoming a retainer of the lord was not impossible. It wasn’t easy, but there were rare cases—and he believed he could do it.

That future fell apart when he first left his father and sought a place to work independently as a hunter.

He heard that a distant village was looking for a forest warden.

Youth was a frightening thing. One couldn’t distinguish between what was possible and what wasn’t. One believed the world existed for them.

Though his father tried to stop him, Gus defied him and went to that village. He traveled for days by wagon, passing through many villages. Having just come of age, he was fearless and full of hope.

In that village, the headman hired forest wardens on behalf of the lord and formalized contracts at the end of each year.

Once contracted, one would receive money and goods to settle down—grain, flour, salt, fabrics like linen and wool. There were many kinds. The待遇 was far better than elsewhere.

But that was precisely why his father had opposed it. Places with overly good conditions always had something suspicious. Foolishly, Gus thought his father was simply jealous.

Blinded by the benefits promised by the lord and the resources of the mountain, Gus didn’t properly investigate and began working as a forest warden.

He had been a fool.

To be a forest warden, one first had to become familiar with the mountain—learn the terrain, the animals, and gradually adapt oneself to it.

Every day, Gus climbed the unfamiliar mountain. It was rich with life.
There were rabbits, birds, deer—and edible plants and fruits scattered everywhere.
All of it was available to the forest warden. He thought there could be no better conditions.

Even commoners could gather firewood from the lord’s forest. In spring, summer, and autumn, firewood was always needed—for cooking and heating water. Gathering it was always competitive.

In winter, it became even more necessary, often requiring people to go deep into the forest. But in that mountain, firewood could be found anywhere.

Excited, Gus never questioned why the villagers only gathered wood from shallow areas.

I was a fool.

To officially become a forest warden, one had to be physically whole at the time of contract.

But before he could formalize his contract, Gus failed to meet the requirements. He severely injured his leg.

There were goblins living in that mountain.

Unaware of their existence, Gus wandered the mountain and was attacked. His leg was injured then, and he was completely cut off from the path of a hunter.

Goblin tribes had to be completely exterminated—but that was not easy.

In that mountain, whenever a goblin tribe was subjugated, some always survived and fled, later forming a new tribe. This cycle had repeated every few decades.

The villagers knew this—and kept it quiet.

Only later did he learn that hunters were hard to find nearby, which was why they recruited forest wardens from distant places.

Goblins abducted human women to reproduce. Because of that, the village—where women were few—was called a goblin village by neighboring areas.

“…”

Though he could no longer work as a hunter, Gus never left the mountain. Dreaming of the day he would take revenge on the goblins who had ruined his life, he lived a miserable existence. Even as he hated the villagers, he lived among them for decades—all for the sake of revenge.

People often thought hunting was about boldly chasing and killing animals. But in reality, most of it was quiet and tedious.

Setting traps and waiting silently for days, or tracking faint traces for long periods—that was real hunting.

Thus, the greatest talent for a hunter was persistence.

For decades, Gus had lived waiting for a chance at revenge. As his father had said, hunting had been his calling.

If only he hadn’t been attacked by goblins.

I will never give up until I kill them all. I will burn their entire tribe to the ground.

Gus looked at the big man.

This man could do it.

There were two types of hunters.

The first were ordinary hunters.
They set traps or used bows to hunt animals—wolves, rabbits, deer, birds.

The second were hunters of magical beasts.

Magical beasts and monsters could not be hunted by ordinary hunters. Even the most skilled would likely die upon encountering one. That’s why hunters were taught from the beginning—if you encounter such creatures, run.

Those who hunted magical beasts were adventurers. When such creatures appeared, lords or villages would request help from guilds. It was the same everywhere.

But rarely, there were hunters who also possessed magical talent.

Such hunters were stronger than adventurers. Their hunting skills, which adventurers lacked, made them exceptional.

If one could use healing magic, they wouldn’t die even when injured. Judging from that arm, this man’s healing ability was stronger than anything Gus had ever heard of.

Moreover, the man was incredibly strong. The load he had carried up the mountain was too heavy for one person—yet he had carried it along with a woman and a child without even breathing hard.

This man had the potential to surpass any hunter Gus had ever known or heard of.

“…”

Gus was sixty-five years old. It had been over forty years since the last goblin extermination. By now, a new tribe must have formed.

As the tribe grew and lacked enough abducted women, goblins would eventually attack villages. For now, they remained hidden deep in the mountains—but it wouldn’t be long.

They would attack this village.

That would be the chance to wipe them out.

Until then, I will train this man into a great hunter.

Whether he was a mage or not, the fact that he had faced a wolf, sacrificed a hand, and still killed it already made him exceptional. With a bit of refinement, he would soon surpass all others.

But he had to be careful. The man must not learn about the goblins.

No one would remain in the mountains if they knew goblins were there—they abducted women and ate humans.

I must hide it until the contract is made.

Once contracted, there would be binding force. Breaking it without the lord’s permission would make one a criminal.

Since the man didn’t know the language, it would be hard for him to learn the truth. The villagers wouldn’t tell him either. The cunning headman would deceive him with a kind face. The truth about the goblins could be revealed after the contract.

The big man, who had seemed wary at first, lowered his axe and grinned.

“####.”

He spoke in an unfamiliar language—likely a greeting. But one of his legs was subtly positioned behind him.

His center of gravity is shifted back.

His right shoulder, too, was naturally lowered. A stance ready to attack. Though smiling, he was clearly wary.

He’ll become a good hunter.

Though he seemed untrained, his movements resembled those of a predator. It wasn’t conscious—some rare people possessed such instincts.

There is time.

Gus had searched for signs of goblins, but none had been found yet. There was time to train him.

Gus let his arms hang loosely and smiled, showing no hostility.

“Starting today, I will teach you how to hunt. I will pass on everything I know.”

It was a good day. The sky was clear and white, and the mountain air felt especially pure. The chirping of winter birds echoed all around.

It felt as though the spirits of the mountain were smiling.

Everything seemed to be blessing this day.

In all his life, he had never known a day this good.