Chapter 18: First Exam — Hunt! (4)

Chapter 18: First Exam — Hunt! (4)

Chapter 18: First Exam — Hunt! (4)

Keeping tabs on each other's steps, Hunter and Aimee silently ventured into the cave's mouth, which was sloping down, hoping to see what kind of monster was inside and how the main enemy team was doing.

They hadn't spotted anyone or anything yet, continuously going down.

Which was surely only possible because they were inside the mini domain of a monster.

In this dark world, Hunter was reminded of his claustrophobia.

He never had it in his previous life... but it seemed like he developed it in the new world. Surprisingly, Hunter didn't know how it even started, as it wasn't like he had a horrifying experience underground, cave, or any other tight place.

Of course, he understood that some people were born this way, so he came to accept that.

But it was such an odd feeling.

'Is it even fear? Well, if anything, it's a fear mixed with something else... I don't know about mental issues here, but maybe there are new ones in this fantasy world. I won't let that bury me!'

The last sentence deeply echoed in Hunter's heart.

-

After a few minutes of nervous and silent descent, Hunter and Aimee finally recorded some voices...

Which weren't the sounds they had been expecting!

What they expected to be cries, screams, and banging of weapons and claws was actually nothing but sounds of loud smacking, notifying them that the battle between hunters and a monster was over.

But would hunters... eat the corpse they had to bring to the destined spot?

Shouldn't they have shared it with the group above them?

"We have to take a peek."

"Yeah."

Reaching the fast agreement, Hunter and Aimee went further into the cave, finally noticing what was actually going on in the cave.

The hunters had lost against a monster, which was a huge black bear over twenty-six feet tall. It didn't appear any different from bears Hunter had seen in the books in his previous world, bar its absurd height.

But as the monster opened its jaw to tear through the thick torso of a fat huntress, easily tearing apart her flesh and chewing on her bones, Hunter forgot about those cute bears from Earth.

The black bear's red eye was growing more and more ravenous as the human flesh was too delicious. It had tasted it for the first time, and its last snack it had been saving with passion, the fat woman, was finally in its mouth, increasingly losing her wide bones and juicy meat.

And yet, the bear's hunger and love for human flesh was flourishing, soon only to kick him off its domain in search of more participants.

"At least they have wounded him! Look, he has no eye! A huge advantage for you, Aimee!"

"That's the only wound I've noticed so far. Hungry bastard drenched himself in so much blood I can't spot any other wounds."

"It should have worn a bib, right?"

"Yes."

"Alright. I'll just face it head-on. You use that wound for your advantage."

"Can you fight in this darkness?"

"Yeah. As long as this guy's eye burns like a lantern, I'll be able to fight!"

"I'll take your word for it."

"Thanks. As soon as I run at this monster, you run to the right side of this cave! Believe!"

After saying those words, Hunter rushed off the hiding spot, drawing all attention to himself. In this wide cave of nothing but darkness and dead bodies littering the ground, Hunter's steps echoed aloud, bouncing off the leftovers of corpses of monsters and now humans.

Hunter smiled as he could see the monster's only eye flashing with welcoming happiness and hunger, its red eye leaving red trails as it arched its head back to roar.

'Yeah... as I expose myself to the world, everything else loses its importance. There's only me and opportunity before me. All I did in the past becomes meaningless as I extend my hand to try more of the world! Consequences and the world's standards be damned! If I feel ecstatic and relieved that I killed someone, then so be it! It is me! If someone tries to change me and tell me this is bad, I will tell them to fuck off my path!'

"Because I don't have time to waste on trash people with so many beauties in this world."

Irked by the condescending smile of the little human before it, the monster growled and got onto its four. It ran across the entire cave, shaking it with its weight and force behind the hulking frame.

Seen a more dangerous monster... or rather exiled spirit that was now sealed within him, Hunter wasn't even scared or worried about the black bear.

He only bent his knees and prepared to execute his plan.

-

As the monster's paw hovered before him to smash him down, Hunter lifted his hands to guard himself and smiled, feeling confident in his physical strength and endurance.

The monster soon tested him, dropping its paw on Hunter's head, only to get a reality check as the man in front of him was different from the women it had won against — the man's guard was tougher than the fat huntress' shield, much more difficult to break!

The paw became numb off the impact, now uncontrollably floating before Hunter's face...

Which was an advantage he wouldn't dare to waste.

Stretching his hands to get a hold of it, Hunter tangled his arms around the monster's paw, then exerted all his strength to proceed with his plan.

He pulled the arm closer to his chest, then spun around, dragging the monster in his wake.

Soon, Hunter was like an Olympic athlete, with the black bear being his hammer.

He was now spinning with his arms outstretched, preparing to throw the monster to the right side.

Which he soon did.

As he threw the monster away, it heavily collided with the domain's wall, cracking it, only to fall headfirst onto the ground.

Worse, the throw was aimed so perfectly that the monster dropped with his only intact eye grating the floor, exposing the empty and bloody eye socket to the second hidden enemy in the domain.

The golden-haired woman stood above the monster, with her little hands holding her black sword tightly.

Her aim?

The empty eye socket.

Aimee accurately thrust her sword into that gaping wound, her sword drilling into the black bear's skull to get that juicy and dangerous brain! She pressed all her strength and weight onto the monster, screaming with resolution.

At last, her sword pierced through the organ.

The only intact eye of the monster soon lost its gleam...

And as the red lantern was put out, the fight was over.

"Well done, Aimee!"

"Thanks... someone actually managed to shove a sword into that eye socket before. I found a gap and used it to win against time and the monster's endurance."

"Well done two times, beautiful!"

"You did well, too. Let's bring this monster to the middle of this domain now."

As Aimee leaned down to grasp the bear's paw and moved the huge existence a little, her eyes widened in a stupor.

This bastard was so heavy that Aimee would at most be only able to drag the bear on the floor to the middle of the cave.

It'd leave trails... which was against her wish.

"Could you help me?"

"I was waiting for this question!"

"I don't want to leave trails."

"Nah, you'd be able to lift the monster up if you were at your peak strength! I know that, Aimee."

After sneaking below the black bear, Hunter pushed the monster up and hailed it to the middle. Inward, he was pleased to find out that his strength was better than Aimee's.

It meant that while her speed was on another level, his strength was above hers!

If she were as strong as him, Hunter would only be able to put more attention to his physical training, at least until his other skills awakened from SSS Deathless' inheritance.

'Now that I think of it, maybe this odd claustrophobia is related to the will inside me? That would explain a lot!' Hunter inwardly thought while carrying the monster.

Meanwhile, Aimee followed him with her eyes locked on his silver hair.

"Your comforting words did make me feel a little better."

"What do you mean? I was honest."

"Don't spit lies to me. I know you can tell that I am far from being exhausted."

"Haha! Well, it's not really a bad lie, you know? You understand it, and I made you feel better. Win-win! Also, it's a part of my role to keep you motivated."

"What a really good leader you're."

"Thanks! But I meant my role as a man."

"...you're far from a man with this cute face."

"Damn it!"

"You're a cute boy in my eyes. There's like ten years age gap between us."

"This only makes me go!"

"Still makes you a cute boy."

"...keep making me excited, woman."

"A... c-u-t-e b-o-y."

"Why are we even going to the middle of this cave? To pay respects to the dead?"

"Ah, silly cute boy. It's because we can't leave this cave with the monster."

Hunter squinted his eyes and looked at Aimee's somber face, "Why not? We must pass the exam?"