Red didn't let yesterday's success get into his head. He walked slowly, tracking the dirt path like yesterday. He could not find anything in the first forty trees, no sign of a living thing.
However, he learned his lesson not to trust what he saw. He must use everything he can, most importantly, his hearing. His hearing saved him yesterday when his eyes could not spot the hiding marget.
He climbed the tree again, checking the surroundings. He didn't find anything that was within his range, but then he squinted his eyes, turning toward the deeper part of the jungle.
There was nothing there, but he heard something. The sound of dried leaves getting stepped on, the crispy sound. It was unclear at first, but when he focused, he was sure there was something in the deeper part of the jungle.
'It made sense that no beasts were around here since they picked this path yesterday.'
He was talking about the other kids. While quite a few kids failed to get anything, the majority brought back prey. Those kids who were hanging out in front of the old kitchen were just a minority of the kids of his generation.
Red considered continuing to follow the path, ignoring the sound. He quickly changed his mind and decided to check on the noise.
It was not his intention to hunt this creature, but he wanted to see what kind of beasts lived in this area. Whether he would fight it or not it depended on the situation and the beast.
He tried his best not to make any noise, careful not to alert the creature. He was getting closer and closer, and he finally reached the tree, hiding. The voice was on the other side of the tree he was standing on.
The creature was still creating noise, the crisp sound where the dried leaves were getting stepped on. He took a peek and found the creatures that made noise.
He recognized the creature. It was called Rabbon, a black-furred creature with long ears that stood all the time. It was a small creature, around his calf, and it had a spiral horn that was actually deadly.
This was the common creature that his tribe hunted. The meat in the gruel was Rabbon's meat. He had heard all kinds of stories about this creature from the warrior. Another thing he must be cautious about was their sharp claws.
There were three Rabbon in front of him, and they had their backs to him. Even if they were back on him, he was not going to attack them. The distance was not ideal, and they would react in time and escape.
That was not the worst scenario. The worst scenario was when they all turned on him and attacked him instead. He heard the story about them, but he didn't really know anything about them aside from the story.
The most important thing was how they fought. Were they as quick as Marget? Was there anything he needed to be careful about? Would they call more Rabbon once a fight broke out?
There were so many things that might happen, and that made him overthink. He thought yesterday's success would bring more confidence in himself, but it did not.
Red calmed down and decided to retreat. He didn't think he could beat those three at once, not until he found more about them. He turned around and stepped on the dried twig.
The moment he stepped on the twig, he heard a rustling noise from the other side of the tree. He snapped to the side. At that moment, the bigger Rabbon among the three was already in the air. Rabbon had unique red eyes, and their eyes locked in the air.
Red had a lot on his mind, but the moment he saw the Rabbon, he jumped like that. He only had one thought: he must fight. That was the only choice unless he wanted to give his back open to this wild beast.
He faced the Rabbon, who was not far from. The moment the Rabbon landed on the ground, it also turned toward him.
The Rabbon didn't wait too long as it kicked the ground with its hind legs, launching itself toward Red. It was fast, but Red had seen a creature faster than this Rabbon.
Red could see its movement and reacted faster, taking a light step to the right. What happened next was pretty straightforward. He changed the way he held his broken, holding it upside down. Then he swung it downward when the Rabbon passed him.
The spear pierced the Rabbon's neck. It didn't die right away, as it was struggling to break while crying out. He twisted the spear before pulling it out. He didn't forget to kick it away from him, sending it flying to the tree.
This was just the first Rabbon. There were two more, and he must be prepared for the remaining two. Just as he turned around, the two Rabbon landed not far from him. Those two glanced toward the dying Rabbon, and it let out an annoying shrill.
The one who let out a shrill, repeated the same movement as the first Rabbon. However, this one was even slower than the first one.
Red, however, had his eyes on the second Rabbon, who ran to the side. He easily dodged the first launch and focused on the second one, which was closing the distance from the flank. It got closer to him before launching itself toward his chest.
The Rabbon seemed to be reliant on their horn and the power behind their hind legs. This was much faster than the first. It used its running momentum to give it more speed in the air.
Red was caught off guard by the third one. He jerked backward, falling on his neck just to dodge. He did it in time as the Rabbon went flying above him. At that moment, his hand moved as well.
The spear pierced the Rabbon's lower belly. As it was moving at a high speed, the tip of the spear split its lower belly. Blood and organs fell on Red.
The Rabbon still flew as blood scattered from its lower belly. It crashed into the tree on its back and fell, and it stopped moving afterward and died right away.
Meanwhile, Red immediately flipped around as soon as his back hit the ground. He quickly got back on his feet, looking for the second Rabbon.
The second Rabbon was already in the air, launching itself against him once more. Again, this one was quite slow compared to the other two.
Red squatted, easily avoiding the trajectory. The moment the Rabbon was above him, he thrust his spear upward, piercing the lower belly. It was stuck on his broken as he slammed it down to the ground. Then he finished it with a knee hit to its head.
He heard the cracking sound, breaking its skull and killing it. The job was not done; the first Rabbon was still alive. Even though its neck was pierced with a spear, it was still wriggling around.
Red finished it with a stab to its head, killing it right away. He stood there for a moment, releasing a deep breath.
He didn't expect that he would be able to handle the three Rabbon on his own. It felt amazing that he managed to face three beasts head-on. He finally smiled, a smile that rarely appeared on his face.