Chapter 396 Sight Training: The Hunt Begins

After their conversation, Keng and Lily continued their training. Hours had passed and Gorrum had announced to them they would start their next exercise.

"Alright, it's time for your next tasks." Gorrum announced. "Keng, you will hunt today. Lily, you'll follow the regimen of meditation, exercise and energy gathering in the meantime."

"Why can't we both just hunt? More food for all of us." Keng asked, hand raised in the air.

"True, double the bounty, but hunting is an experience that will be done alone and together. This part of the training is only specifically meant for you. I know you retain information better when you're actually out there doing it. This is supposed to help you while Lily isn't in the same boat as you. I can use the usual method with her more than you. Understand?"

With Gorrum's explanation finished, Keng nodded and went back to his room in the Tomb to gather his weapons. He strapped the belt with the Hydrosphere daggers onto him and put the quiver on and double-checked to make sure everything was in their place before he grabbed the Ruby Bow.

'I don't deserve to use such a weapon, but Elder Jyu'so took the other bow.' Keng sighed as he moved out of the Tomb and looked around. He had hunted with Gorrum a couple of times as practice but this was the first time he was doing it alone.

"Remember what I told you when you went hunting with me before?" Gorrum asked, walking up to Keng.

"Use your eyes and ears. Find a track, follow it. Take your time." Keng replied.

'Good. Now there's a reason why I'm making you hunt. Any ideas why?" Gorrum watched Keng as he rummaged in his head for an answer.

"This has to do something with training, right?" Keng whispered. "Everything that's been done has an intention, so maybe it's because it's going to use…" Keng looked up and cleared his throat. "Practice with my eyes?"

"Practice what specifically?" Gorrum answered with another question.

"Well, we've been doing Sight Sensory training, so I guess that."

"Mmm, exactly that. Use your eyes to find your prey." Gorrum nodded. "If you can successfully do that you should have no problem finding something to hunt. Don't come empty handed or else we're eating whatever's in the garden."

"W-w-wait!" Keng stuttered. "If I don't catch anything, we're just gonna eat carrots and potatoes?!?"

"Yeah, wasn't that obvious?"

"G-G-G-Gorrum! Sir!" Keng quickly moved to circle around him as he turned away from Keng. "Sir, you can't leave me with such a big task! I don't want everyone to suffer."

"Then hunt well, Keng." Gorrum patted Keng and moved past him.

"That just makes things worst if I do fail!" Keng shouted.

"Then hunt well and use everything Elder Jyu'so and I have taught you!" Gorrum waves at him as he wandered back to the shade of the tree where Lily and Elder Jyu'so were.

"If I don't get anything it's just plain carrot and potato soup…!" Keng whined. He stomped on the ground before he turned and headed off into the forest.

—

Keng quietly and quickly moved through the forest bow at the ready. He found a trail and noticed it was deer hooves. He has been tracking this thing for awhile now. He had spotted it a couple times but never found a good shot. The deer would continue forward and his ambition was starting to go down.

'This deer has to stop at some point. Why does it continue to go forward every time I get close to it?' Keng wondered. His ears detected it ahead and he quickly came to a stop and drew an arrow. The Ruby Bow was relatively easy to wield. He was a poor shot even with the "calamity" grade attached to it.

'Found you.' Keng grinned. He pulled the bowstring back and readied. It was a white belly deer. This one was big and would feed them for a couple days. The white belly deer grazed around as it took samples of the grass.

Energy swirled into the bow and arrow. The Ruby Bow seemed to hum with pleasure as Keng released his arrow.

The deer's head shot up and the arrow grazed it. The arrow shattered the ground as the deer flew backwards.

'Ugh, that's it!' Keng dropped his bow and flashed out towards the deer. He grabbed his dagger and went for the kill. The deer's eyes glowed and earth quickly surrounded it. The dagger plunged into the earth as Keng flew backwards.

He tumbled backwards, being crushed underneath the earth as the deer broke out and quickly darted off.

"No!" Keng shouted. He threw himself onto his feet and ignored the dirt and stone as it spilled to the ground. He ran for his bow and turned and the deer was nowhere to be found. He listened and couldn't hear anything.

'This thing is slippery. It's evaded me three times now and has that strange ability to hide it's presence!' He angrily looked around trying to grasp where it could've went. His ears weren't working and his frustration was only growing.

"What do I do?!?" Keng shouted. Gorrum's voice broke through his frustration, remind him he could use his Sight Sensory to figure out where it went. "I'll die from a migraine before I find that deer!"

Keng paced around for a while. He didn't know what to do. On one hand, he could use his sharp hearing, boosted by using Energy to detect it but he would have to filter through the forest and its many animals to hear the specific deer he was hunting or he could simply just use his energized Sight to track it.

'I nicked it so it should leave a blood trail. It's capable of earth magic so I need to…' Keng came to a stop. 'Dammit. I have to use my Sight! ARGH!' He didn't have time to stomp on the ground. He needed to get his prey before it ran away and he lost it.

Keng felt the energy move throughout his body. He could feel the energy condensing near his eyes.

'Now's not the time for a headache. Just focus until I get the deer!' Keng told his eyes. His eyes began to see things light up. He could feel his head starting to hurt. He passed through some bushes and noticed some blood splattered on the ground.

'Smells like that deer I hit.' He dabbed a finger on the blood and lifted it up to sniff it. 'Yup. It is.' Keng focused his eyes on the blood and noticed a brown and white energy surround it. 'Brown and white… Interesting.' Keng looked ahead of him and noticed a trail of brown and white smoking off the ground. Keng followed the trail. He was determined to not come back empty handed. If there was one thing he was certain of, Keng didn't want to fail. He didn't want to be the reason why they ate potato and carrot soup tonight. He loved the taste of meat and thinking about failure just made him want to cry.

He quietly moved through the forest. He passed by many other colorful energies. White, brown, black, red, etc. If he was observant enough, he would've noticed easier prey that hadn't heard him. He was fixated on finding the deer, he didn't notice thatz nor the monsters that noticed him.

The deer was going as it hopped out of a bush. Keng had it in his sights. His excitement made his aura go off which scared everything around him. Birds, bunnies, the deer and even weak monsters fled. The cacophany of animals and monsters shrieking echoed around him as he pulled an arrow out and readied it.

"You're not gonna make me fail! I want meat!" Keng shouted. He followed the deer, ready for a shot. He pushed through the trees and followed the deer as it popped out of another opening. Keng fired the arrow and watched as the deer went flying, slamming into a tree.

[1 White belly Deer Soul has been added!]

"YEAH I GOT IT!" Keng jumped up and down. His excitement made him not even see the pop-up nor hear it. He jumped over to the deer that glowed a bright brown and white. Just as he was about to grab it, his ears twitched and his body jumped backwards. The loud clangs of bats slammed down where he would've been as arrows sailed straight for him in the air.

Keng grunted in pain as he slid backwards. Two large green goblin-like creatures stood in between Keng and his prized deer. Two more large goblin-like creatures dropped down. They were average human height and they wore, what seemed like, leather armor. The two snarled at him, baring their teeth. Keng pulled an arrow out, ignoring the pain as the wound completely healed.

"Hobgoblins? I didn't know this place had hobgoblins." Keng spoke. A fifth hobgoblin popped up, grabbing the deer and lifting it over its shoulder.

"Let's go. I got it." The fifth hobgoblin spoke. Keng narrowed his eyes.

'Why can I understand them?' Keng wondered.

"What do we do with this Fox?" An archer hobgoblin asked.

"Kill it. It probably doesn't even know what we are." The hobgoblin in the back ordered. The hobgoblins turned to look at Keng as the fifth one turned and started into the forest.

"HEY, give me my hunt!" Keng shouted, lifting his free hand at the hobgoblin. The other hobgoblins blocked his way as they smiled.

"Come on, Fox. Let's play