4 Bear and Honey

Raynor targeted the bear and released his arrow, the arrow hit its mark and slammed into the eye of the bear. It was a direct hit.

It does help that he made sure the bear was quite close to his location. After all the thing was crossing over the water.

Making splashes everywhere, and making targeting quite difficult.

This even made the bees retreat as the water would end them.

Though now that he nailed a bear in a flowing stream the carcass started to get washed away.

"Dogo. Let's follow for a bit. We might end up lucky." The hunter said with a thoughtful look as he recalled low levels of water and boulders down the stream.

The pair swiftly retraced their steps and went back to their previous location.

When Raynor saw the washed-up Bear carcass he smiled for a bit.

"Yes! Now let's pull it out."

The moment he said that, Dogo looked at him.

"What? Don't be a wimp, I need that carcass!" He said with an eye roll and proceeded to pull out his last Stag wooden statue and used it.

Moments later white glow surrounded him as he proceeded effortlessly to jump on one of the boulders several metres away. Then on another, going to the middle of the river. He then activated his Wolf's Totem which gave him increased strength.

He pulled the bear's body out but at that moment he started to sweat buckets as he felt how it was hard to maintain two powers…

The hunter boy could feel his muscles aching from stress.

'Just for a few seconds.'

As he said that to himself he proceeded to take much smaller jumps across the boulders, nearly landing face first but he did eventually succeed to bring the carcass to the waiting Dogo.

"Just go and make sure no one steals our meat."

Hearing that the Dog rushed like a bullet back to the camp.

"So, now he is useful."

Raynor said with a groan as he pulled out the rope and tied the bear up. He then proceeded to pull out the arrow from the beast's eye. Well, more like the brain and the eye. Since nearly half of the arrow was inside its skull.

Once he cleaned up the arrow he proceeded to pull the carcass towards the camp.

While it was good for at least 5 more seconds it was time for his strength to leave.

"...Fuck…"

He was feeling EXTRA tired.

"...Just fucking great…"

"...Now, I have to deal with this shit!" As he said that he kicked the bear while slowly but surely he was pulling the carcass.

By the time he was back over an hour had passed. He saw Snoozing Dogo who finished his side of the meal while his was most likely cold by that point.

"...Fuck…fuck this shit…" Angrily he dropped the carcass while walking over and grabbing his leather pouch which was full of drinking water.

He opened it and proceeded to drink it greedily.

The boy neatly finished the whole thing in a single go before sitting down and proceeding to finish his cold meal by this point.

Raynor needed to think about something else otherwise he would get angry once again.

His mind wandered to a few things he could try making…

"Wait a sec… Honey?"

That moment his eyes widened of course… Honey… That shit is like sweets in this dark age!!!

"...what did Bear Grylls do with honey when he found it…"

For a moment he recalled that one episode, the guy used smoke from a fire…

"...Hmm..yeah, though I shouldn't just take all of it… If possible I want to farm it…"

This urge for something sweet makes his tired fire reignite. Swiftly he ate his food and then rested for a bit. He then refilled his water from the river before proceeding to start skinning the bear.

While he was doing that he checked the claws of the bear pawns. Those things are enormous!

'It could slice through a human like he was made from tissues.'

For a second he compared the claws to his hand, a single claw was nearly the size of half of his hand. Though his body was still quite small. It just tells the size difference. Even for an adult, the claw would be nearly as big as the whole finger.

As he was pulling the claws out he placed them aside. It took a while but he removed the whole of the bear fur. It was thick brown fur.

It would make a nice carpet in his hut.

At that moment he got a ping in his system. A notification he has been waiting for!

[HIDDEN TASK COMPLETED]

[REWARDS: Hunter Logs, Inventory]

"HELLL!!! YES!!!" Raynor screamed from the top of his lungs! Finally! The holy grail! He got it!!!

Dogo, who was snoozing, jumped back on his legs and looked around. All he saw was his insane owner. When he saw it was him he proceeded to snooze again, completely ignoring the dancing human.

Raynor quickly said the magic words.

"Inventory."

At that moment a window with a grid appeared in front of him. The boy could not stop himself and grinned silly. He started to store items in the inventory.

Though he stopped himself and didn't store his weapons. This stuff is something he will be keeping. He is in the wrong world not to have a weapon ready at all times.

Before long he was feeling light as a feather! He can now start practising making clothes and lightweight gear specifically for pure hunting.

"Though I have this feeling I can't store the pre-rendered carcass it would interfere with the ritual."

Raynor said to himself while stroking his chin.

Yes, he should be wary of using his inventory constantly.

"Right. Let's see… Hunter Log!"

What he got was a list.

[List of animals in Southern Wolfswood: 100%]

[Stag: 3]

[Wolves: 7]

[Boar: 1]

[Bear: 1]

[Deer: 1]

"Hmm…curious, so this doesn't register foxes? I am pretty sure there should be Elks in this forest as well…"

Then he noticed the name of the log.

"Ah yes…so big the woods are split up into sections…" All Raynor could do was just facepalm, the forest is the size of a country of course they separated it.

Don't they have noble families and loyal bannermen who live in sections of the forest?

The hunter could only grimace. He doubts he can just ignore the people of this world one way or another there will be interaction and eventually a clash.

Before that can happen, it needs more power.

~~~

Once he was done playing around with his new interfaces he checked out all the claws he collected and inspected them.

'Huh… If I could have a few more could I make a weapon out of this?'

As he said that he put them in a line. At that moment he recalled that Aztec Jaguar warriors used to have wooden weapons with obsidian blades.

They slice through humans like a saw.

If he is to make something like that and add a spirit it would be on a different level.

For a moment he thought about their design in his head.

He is going to use claws and teeth instead of obsidian blades.

Though obsidian is something he could find, it would be better to use stuff from which he hunted down. It would make it stronger from the ritualistic power he is using.

Regardless, with a few more ideas in mind, he will be busy for a while.

After rendering the bear for parts he tried some of the bear meat. It was as good as he thought. Not only that but Bears are omnivores…

They eat everything, so Raynor decided not to risk it and decided to dump the majority of the carcass.

Though he did store away the skull, teeth, fangs, few bones, and a pelt. The pelt of the beer is the best thing about the whole beast.

It's thick and warm. Though the beast's teeth and the claws are the second best thing about it.

Once everything is stored away Raynor proceeds to walk to the other side of the river.

He even forced his Dogo to take a bath in the river because he wants his dog to at least be clean even if he is useless.

After crossing the river, Raynor continued his trip. Now that he was without any luggage he can explore far easier than before.

His objective this time was not an animal he wanted to hunt but honey.

That stuff was the sweets of the medieval world, not only that but he can use it to make drinks and marinate meat with it.

Honestly, taking adventures like that helps to come up with ideas!

He already has a few months of work planned!

As he was walking around and looking for clues he finally spotted what he was looking for. It was a small clearing with several trees which had wide leaves.

His eyes for a second widened. Did he just strike gold?

Because he knows that certain trees like birch can produce delicious sap which he could use to make a drink! Or syrup on bread.

"Oh yes…I guess I will be visiting that village after all." He said that while cleaning his drool.

He swiftly proceeded to look around for that honey.

Around a few minutes later he found it. The buzzing sound gave away the position. To deal with this Raynor made sure he recalled his Dogo and covered himself properly before getting a small torch and starting the fire.

Once he was ready he got closer to the bees. They came out to 'greet' him but the black-haired boy was ready for them. He waved the torch to get close before pulling his knife and cutting some of the honeycomb.

He then swiftly stored it in his inventory before dashing away. He doesn't want to kill even more of the bees.

After all, he is going to use them as a farm.

With honey secured he proceeded to return to his side of the forest and back to the hut.

~~~

The first thing I did when I was back was to walk over to the Wolf Totem.

Though what shocked me was that I could feel the power radiating from it.

I didn't sense anything like this before…

Is this like this because of my blood awakening? Did I become sensitive to magic?

Curious discovery.

Regardless I placed my hand on the totem and guided the wolf spirits into it.

Those rowdy wolf souls started to get annoying. Though they do serve fascinating training partners while sleeping.

Yes… every single night when I was away I would face bloodthirsty beasts in my sleep. The more souls I carry the more I have to face.

Of course, with the bear joining the club it's even more difficult. Now I have to fight a bear.

This is why I rushed back after getting the honey. Though honey is more important than bad dreams.

Though my eyes stayed on the totem. The wolf eyes on the totem with the tribal markings started to glow.

I could FEEL how my power was growing. It was not enough to get another wolf-based power but it was enough to increase the duration of the boost and lower the recast.

Though what made me smirk was another notification window.

[HIDDEN TASK COMPLETED]

[REWARD: Totem Interface]

Without wasting time I swiftly opened this menu.

[Wolf Totem]

Upgrade: 7/10

[Totem Powers:

[Sheer Force: Stage 2] {Duration 1.30 minutes, Cooldown 8 minutes}

[---]

[---]

'Hmm, this is not as useful as I thought. Thankfully it gives me some insights and clarifies the rest.

For example, I know there will be two more powers and that the next upgrade is at 10 wolf souls. But that's about it.'

Without much fanfare, I looked around, then at the sun. Seeing where it was.

'Hmm, I have some time left, let's start with Bear Totem.'

As I thought about it I walked to my wood pile and started to look for a good block of wood for the Bear totem.

If my gut feeling tells me that it's good then it's fantastic, if not…then… well…

I would need to chop another tree down.

Something I don't want to do. Nope, that shit was taxing.

Thankfully I found a good piece that fits the image I have in my mind.

After some preparation and letting Dogo out, I started to work.

~~~~~~Later~~~~~~

Bran is just a simple man, he has been living in this small village north of Torrhen's Square just outside the Wolfswoods.

He is as normal as one could get. Though In recent years life around the village got somewhat interesting, an experienced Hunter with his son moved in.

Villagers were delighted that they could eat more wild game at the tavern. As an old Man Tor can't bring much nowadays.

But then, a year later the new hunter moved out, he didn't even learn this man's name! This hunter even left his only child alone! A cruel thing to do. But it is how things are in the North.

It was a sad thing. No one in the village could take care of him as life in the North was bad as it is. But then…

The boy arrived in the village with an array of pelts and meat. He wanted to exchange for some bread and some other things like some steel!

It was a shocking development!

It looks as if the boy was even better than his father as the boy had a wolf with him!

'Is the boy a Stark? But it couldn't…'

Bran thought to himself, the last boy's visit was around 2 months ago and the tavern is running out of fresh stag and boar meat. The farmer is always keeping a few coppers for some fresh meat. As eating bread gets stale and beef or pork is expensive. And beef and pork are just a luxury since keeping cows or pigs is challenging just as much.

Eventually the boy once again returned and this time. He had something interesting.

"Bran! Did you hear? The hunter boy returned. He got some more meat! And something more!"

"...the so-called 'smoked meat'?" Bran heard about it!

"Aye, had a chance to taste it!"

"You did?"

"Aye, the taste of fire, the smell, the saltiness… it's simply…food of kings!"

Bran gulped down. Hearing how good it was made the farmer's mind start to imagine meat with smoke coming out of it.

His mind is running wild, he has no idea what this meat looks like!

"...Is this meat that good?"

"Aye…I am pretty sure it will get the attention of our Lord. It's only a matter of time." His old friend said with a slightly sad tone. It's only a matter of time until the Lord will hire this boy to hunt and make some food for him.

"If not, the bandits get him first."

For a second Bran shook his head. It's only a matter of time until the hungry bandits hear about this smoked meat as well.

~~~~~~Later~~~~~~

It has been over half a year since I hunted that bear.

Not to make the carving of the wood into a monotonous work I decided to do several other things as well.

Like building a smoking house. Well it's not a 'house' more like a small one but where I hang the meat and make it smoke.

The whole process used more than the wood I had so I needed to get some more. Which means I spend another two days making more resources for myself.

Once all that was done I proceeded to use an ancient style of log house building. With this making the house was easy. Apart from the smokehouse, I decided to make some drinks. By mixing honey and tree sap. I am pretty sure that by accident I made it slightly… Strong?

Most likely there is some alcohol in it. But well, whatever, it helps to relax so the stuff is good.

Regardless, while it took extra longer than usual the Bear Totem was done. And it was radiating power far different from the wolf.

Where the wolf was like the sharp wind, the bear one felt like a heavy boulder ready to crush under its weight.

The power it gave me was the Bear Fortitude. Making me extremely robust and heavy to move. Not only that but it stacks with Wolf's Sheer Force.

To test it out I went back to the forest and repeated my previous style. I got a stag, used its meat as bait, and got another wolf pack.

This time…I wrestled them. Well, more like I broke their necks. Under a minute. It was brutal and swift, just the way I like it.

After the test, I was walking back to my hut when I noticed that the doors of my hut had been opened.

My eyes widened for a second before I narrowed them.

"Dogo… on guard." As I said, the dog got serious as we proceeded to walk towards the but.

A few sniffs later Dogo barked in a positive tone telling me that there is not one there.

"Ballsy thieves. I guess, an example needs to be made." I said with some anger. While I don't leave anything valuable after getting my Inventory I am pretty sure they ransacked the place.

Sure enough, the moment I was inside I saw the place all messed up. Not even my fluffy bed was left in one piece. All the pelts have been stolen.

The more I saw of this the more I was pissed.

Once I checked outside I went over to my smokehouse which was open as well. The meat was smoking there. It was gone.

"Of course, it was gone," I said with an icy tone.

"DOGO find their trail!!! I will gut them alive!" I said with a chilly tone the dog by this point was using his paws to hide his face and his whole body was shaking from fright.

"Stop with your whimpering!" I said furious