Hunting In The Wild

Because he didn't want to trouble Master Wuzu anymore, Lu Chen planned to hunt for his own food in the wild.

However, right when he left his house, he bumped into Wuzu and the chieftain right away.

"Master Wuzu, chieftain, what brings you here?"

"You. How can we not come after knowing what you've done? Why did you leave the totem pillar's protection? Don't you know how dangerous it is?"

Seeing that the old Wuzu was shouting at him angrily, Lu Chen wasn't feeling offended at all as he could feel Wuzu's concern.

At the same time, he also figured out Wuzu and the chieftain were here to stop him from taking any more risks.

But sadly, Lu Chen shook his head and replied, "Master Wuzu, I'm sorry to worry you. But we are barbarians, shouldn't we be fighting out there instead of staying on the defensive? Do you think we can really hold our ground?"

His words put Wuzu in silence. Of course, he of everyone in the village knew it the best—they wouldn't be able to.

Right now, the village was still surviving, but they were already at their last legs. A lot of the young and adult barbarians had died.

However, even when the current situation was untenable, Wuzu had no other options. The Evils were so much stronger than the village. Without the totem pillar's protection, the village would only perish faster.

Lu Chen also understood their situation. Therefore, he said, "The other villagers are not as talented as I am, it's best for them to stay close to the village."

"But me, I'm different. I should not let my talent go to waste. I have to battle, to fight and grow stronger."

Although it felt like he was boasting about his talent, it was necessary for Lu Chen to say it so he could have Wuzu's support.

After feeling Lu Chen's determination, Wuzu could only keep quiet.

After all, Lu Chen's legs were his own to command, Wuzu couldn't do anything if he wanted to go.

After a long silence, Wuzu eventually sighed and gave in.

"Sigh, fine, you are almost sixteen this year, almost an adult. You shall make your own decisions. However, please be careful, if you find yourself in trouble, you must run. You have to stay alive."

"Don't worry, Master Wuzu, I didn't go out to die. Furthermore, I'll be near to the border, the totem pillar is close behind me. If I find myself in trouble, I can still return quickly."

"Good, that's good. What are you…" 

Wuzu was puzzled to see Lu Chen taking the metal sword with him in the village.

Lu Chen didn't hide his intention and even asked Wuzu for information, "I'm going to hunt. Master Wuzu, do you know a place that is rich in prey?"

"Is it because of the energy consumption from the battles? Are you lacking food? If you don't have enough, you can just ask some from me!"

Lu Chen shook and declined Wuzu's offer.

"Master Wuzu, you've already helped me a lot. This time, let me find my own food. Furthermore, battling with the beasts is also training for me."

"Hahaha, Ah'Chen, you are indeed worthy as a barbarian! To the west of the village, you will find the most prey there. But hear me, you keep this in mind, whether or not you've hunted any prey, you come back to the village before dusk. The Wilderness's night is no place for one man to survive."

"I understand, chieftain."

…

They watched Lu Chen's back as he left and Wuzu sighed again.

"Sigh, Ah'Chen is too motivated, I don't know if that's good or bad."

"Of course it's a good thing. Only with this mentality can Ah'Chen be a strong and dominating warrior instead of a puppet with only empty strength."

"Furthermore, if Ah'Chen keeps his motivation, I think he will surpass even the Barbarian Bone level and reach even higher. If that's the case, our village will be saved."

To think that they might have a powerful villager sheltering the village, even Wuzu was moved.

But soon, he shook his head and dismissed the possibility. 

"The Barbarian Bone Warriors are truly powerful, but how many are capable of becoming one? Most have died in the process."

This time, the chieftain didn't talk back. A hero's success came with the cost of a million lives, even the barbarians were no exception.

The powerful experts had always been few in number, this was because many talents had died trying to become one.

…

To grow strong in the battles is definitely a difficult path to take. I might die anytime now, but what choice do I have.

Lu Chen was leaving toward the west of the village while reflecting.

Lu Chen understood that Wuzu's concerns were for his own good, but Lu Chen didn't hesitate to decline the offers.

After all, this was not the same world as Earth. Back then, even when one was weak, he could still easily survive in society. But here in this world, without strength, one could die anytime.

Lu Chen didn't want to spend the rest of his days in fear of the Evils coming for him.

Therefore, his own choice was to keep on fighting and to become stronger.

What a shame, the Mastery Points can't replace everything. I still have to find my own nutrients to replenish the lost energy from the levelings.

Lu Chen grumbled and shook in laughter.

But I am so much more fortunate than the rest to have the Mastery Points. I shouldn't be too greedy!

While he was thinking to himself, he was moving quickly toward the mountain in the west.

In stark contrast to his Constitution and Strength, Lu Chen's Agility was relatively low and so his speed was considered fast. 

However, a high Constitution meant that he would only consume little energy if he only jogged. Hence, although Lu Chen wasn't traveling fast, his pace was steady.

Half an hour later, Lu Chen arrived at the foothill of the west mountain. He didn't stop there and entered the forest.

This was where the villagers often come to hunt. The prey down at the foothill have been mostly cleared already. If I want to hunt fast, I need to go deeper.

Another hour later, Lu Chen entered the depths of the forest.

 Once he saw there were no more traces of human activity around him, Lu Chen heaved a breath and started to search for his prey.

…

An hour later, in a forest filled with the chirping of birds and the sounds of nature, an elk rushed out hurriedly from a bush for its life. At the same time, a sharp noise could be heard coming from the back of the elk.

Boom—

A loud boom broke the peace in the forest.

A high-speed flying object crashed on one of the towering trees.

If one looked carefully, they would realize that the flying object was not a weapon but a simple rock that could be found anywhere on the ground in the forest.

However, although rocks were found everywhere in the forest, the damage it made was horrible.

When the rock crashed on the tree, the tree barks exploded and a huge hole was left at the point of impact. Whereas the flying rock itself was pulverized into specks of dust by the force of impact.

The pulverized rock and the tree that was almost crushed into halves, one could tell the horrifying strength the thrower possessed.

However, the said thrower was currently in a mad mood upon seeing his work.

Of course, he was in a bad mood when his hunt wasn't going all smoothly.

"Damn it, these wild beasts are too vigilant, I can't even get to them."

Yes, he couldn't even get close to them. Just as stated earlier, even when Lu Chen was a Swordsman who was supposingly be known for their speed and agility, Lu Chen's highest attributes were in fact, his Strength and Constitution.

This made it incredibly hard for him in his hunt.

The wild beasts may be weak, but their speed when running away from danger was unmatched.

Lu Chen wasted a lot of energy chasing after his prey, but never once had his efforts borne fruit. Eventually, he gave up and chose to use long-range attacks.

But because he didn't have the Swordsman's Sword Qi, his only long-range attack was throwing rocks.

Unfortunately, without the appropriate skills and also being a first time user in throwing rocks, Lu Chen's performance was really terrible.

The rocks he threw were powerful, but they could never hit their targets.

Lu Chen was extremely annoyed.

Sigh, do I return empty-handed?

He could find his prey, but he couldn't catch up to their speed nor land any attacks on them. Lu Chen was out of moves.

Right when Lu Chen was feeling troubled, he suddenly squinted his eyes and looked back.

Danger approaching.

Lu Chen felt a sense of danger tingling in his heart and he immediately turned into his battle-ready stance.

What is it? Evils? But aren't the Evils out only at night? Or could it be, an Evil that can come out in the day?

Lu Chen was prepared for battle.

But soon, Lu Chen was surprised to see his enemy.

He turned around and saw his opponent, not any Evil he thought it was, but a bear with brown furs sprinting toward him with its four limbs.

Brown bear! I came to hunt beasts yet a beast is trying to hunt me now?