Chapter 67 - Hunter, Gatherer, NEET

"Looks like we found our home for the night."

Sirius tapped his hand against the smooth stone that made up the cave, turning back to Ren as if seeing what he thought of it.

"I still don't get why Beatrice left out so many details about this game…"

Ren followed his complaint with a sigh, dropping a pile of firewood in the middle of cold cavern.

"If you haven't figured that part out, then you really aren't using your head."

"Calling me stupid?"

"Maybe think about why Beatrice would want to set up a game designed to force us to bond together, and overall push us. The Monster Hunt is designed for newcomers—you."

"So omitting the details is part of forcing me to grow, huh? Sheesh, she's not pulling any punches."

Ren sat down on the ground, watching as the orange glow of the setting sun dipped into the mouth of the cavern.

"It's going to rain tonight."

Sirius stated as he began fiddling with the pile of firewood.

"How can you tell?"

"It kind of comes with being a lightning mage."

"Where's my perk for being a dark mage?!"

Sirius laughed at Ren's genuine frustration before moving closer to the firewood. With a snap of his fingers, a small bolt of lightning flung from between his fingers to the wood, lightning the flammable material on fire within an instant.

"--At this point, I feel like you're showing off. Why is lightning magic so damn cool?!"

Ren put his hands in front of the newly sparked flames, relaxing as the warmth caressed his previously cold body.

"I've been practicing for years now, you'll get there. Between me and you, I've run into a few opponents using dark magic--and lemme tell ya', they were pretty damn strong. Of all the elements, darkness has the biggest variety of spells at its disposal--debuffing, buffing, attacking, defending, even healing."

"Really? All of that?"

Ren asked, manifesting a miniscule orb of darkness above his index finger before flicking it away. He definitely wasn't unhappy with the affinity stuck with him, but watching Sirius' usage of lightning just made it feel like there was so much more he could've been.

"Of course, you're already well on your way to being a damn strong mage, Bro."

"--Speaking of getting strong...that's not going to happen unless I get something in my stomach soon."

"...good point."

They had neglected to consider their options in terms of actually eating--the most vital part of survival when camping out in the wilderness. One look at Sirius' pampered features and extravagant clothing told Ren that the Outlander probably had just as little experience with this sort of thing as him.

"So...what're we going to eat?"

Ren asked, putting the question on the table.

"--Well, I'm glad you asked. Ren Nakamura, this is your second test! Find us a suitable meal to eat before we resign for the night!"

"What kind of lame excuse is that?! Just say you don't know how to hunt!"

"I know how to hunt, but I can't simply carry us through this game, Bro. What would you learn then? You've got to trust your big brother on this one, Ren."

Sirius assured him, putting his hand on the young man's shoulder as he gave him his trademark smile.

He didn't have much of a choice--whether he liked it or not, Sirius was his senior here, and was definitely capable of pulling the two of them to victory. This was likely his best shot at pulling his own weight here--it would be a good chance to earn some more points with Sirius.

"Good luck, Bro!"

Sirius called out to Ren as he left the cave, with nothing more than his sword at his hip.

--I've got to make this fast, the sun is going to set fully soon...I don't really like the idea of being alone at night in this damn place.

He shivered at that idea, imagining the concept of spiders the size of the oversized frog he had dealt with earlier that day.

"There's got to be like...bunnies, or something, right?"

It would be a herculean feat to even spot a small animal through the thick foliage that inhabited the forest, barely able to even see the soil beneath his boots half the time. He kept his hand on the handle of his sword, ready for any creature that decided to cross his path and give him a heart-attack, stepping over the evergreen.

A sharp, drawn-out "hiss" had suddenly met his eardrums, causing him to freeze in place and draw his sword from its scabbard, darting his eyes side to side to find the source of the hissing.

--Was that hiss aimed at me? It had to be. Whatever it is--it's going to be dinner.

In case the creature found him first, he activated reinforcement--guarding himself as he slowly turned to the side in an attempt to locate the unknown critter. Roughly four meters away from him, his eyes met with the source of hostility.

"A katzen, huh? A pretty big one at that…"

The feline creature was without a doubt larger and more round than the one he encountered at the start of his journey, watching him with violent, beady eyes.

--I can't use magic against it, I'm pretty sure my magic would spoil the meat…

Left with only one option, he held his sword in front of him, gripping the handle with both hands as he abandoned the idea of casting for this instance.

Just as he lifted his boot to engage with the katzen--he found the source of its hostility. It wasn't attempting to hunt him as if he were prey, it was on guard due to the tiny katzen kittens that it was protecting behind itself.

"Ah...so you're just a protective mom kitty."

Ren let out a sigh, sheathing his sword as he couldn't bring himself to perform such a ruthless act. It would either be him taking away their mother and leaving the poor kittens to fend for themselves in the heartless forest, or taking them out as well. Both options would leave a sour taste in his mouth.

"Get on. Shoo. Get."

He waved his hands to usher the mother katzen away with her kittens, which after a few moments of watching him closely, it complied, backing away slowly before disappearing into the foliage with her children.

As a reward for his deed, his stomach let out a growl, yearning for sweet sustenance.

"So this is the reward you get for having a good conscience, huh?"

Trekking onward once again, Ren swore to slay the next creature that crossed his path, there was no room for mercy in his stomach, only a filling of warm food. Soon, the light in the sky had abandoned him, leaving him in the darkness of the starry night, guided only by the subtle moonlight.

Without realizing it, he had nearly stumbled off the side of a cliff, standing at the precipice that overlooked a small lake.

"--That was close…"

Ren put his hand over his chest, feeling his heart throw itself against his chest rapidly, settling it as he took a few, drawn-out long breaths. Even amidst the darkness, the lake seemed to glow against the moonlight--unnatural as it was, it did ease his fears somewhat.

He took one more soothing breath before leaping from the five-meter high cliff, landing on the ground below without the assistance of reinforcement magic.

"This water should be drinkable, right?"

Asking himself as he slid the canteen out from the pouch on his belt, he dipped the water-container into the lake. It was clearer than any water he had seen on Earth, and that to him was enough to vouch for its drinkability.

Taking a large gulp of the refreshing water, it reinvigorated his tired body and temporarily subsided his hunger.

"--Alright, now I really need to find something for me and Sirius. I'm starting to really scorn this weak heart of mine...katzen sounds good right about now."

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a patch of berries hanging from foliage. Getting a closer look at the potential solution to his hungry predicament, the small pieces of fruit were a variety of colors--ranging from blue, green, red, and yellow.

As his bedroom was the only habitat he was familiar with, the rules of nature and survival were scarcely known to him--but he did know that eating random fruit you find could be less than optimal.

--Even so...I'll grab them anyways, Sirius can probably figure out if they're edible or not.

Plucking one of the berries with a blue exterior, the ground below began to vibrate in response to his action.

"--Eh?"

The subtle vibration then turned into full-blown rumbling, causing him to jump back and wrap his fingers around the hilt of his sword. Cracks in the soil became visible where the berry bush had sat, breaking apart before a large, crimson bulbous head rose from the ground in front of him.

Watching closely, the head resembled the same berries he was planning to pick--before opening up to reveal rows of tiny, razor-sharp teeth.

"What the hell is that--?!"