Hunt. Part 2

Sheyken moved on from his first kills and decided to go deeper. Ningal had told him which beast meat was testy, nutritious and what abilities they would have when they evolved. For people who would eat it for enjoyment Pinsch were somewhere at the bottom of the list in the village. They would only buy it if there was no other. He had walked for more than 2 hours without seeing any beasts.

'When I was dying to get out of here I saw many of them, wonder why I can't find any right now.'

The forest seemed like it was listening to his complaints because up ahead he saw something that looked like a bird creeping in closer. He was walking while trying to make as much noise as he could so to attract the beasts. That is why he expected to see one head-on unless they set up an ambush like earlier.

The beast came closer and closer walking like a chicken would, with its head moving around like it was curious.

"Shit!"

Sheyken said out loud out of surprise. Ningal had told him to avoid this beast.

'A Cossowa.'

The beast was a head taller than him, had a heavily-built black and blue large-sized body, Its feathers hair-like, had a red wattle hanging from the neck. On its head it had a large vertical greyish helmet (casque) that was razor-like, had long legs and its claws looked like they were made to tear flesh from bone. Ningal had said its razor sharp helmet would go through a steel sword like a hot knife through butter. Sheyken laughed inwardly at that comment knowing he had Plot Armor on his side.

It opened its beak, letting out a shrill sound greatly agitating Sheyken. Not wanting to take his chances with a beast he was warned about, he turned around and ran. He was still surrounded by trees so he could not run at his full speed. The Cossowa did not have this problem and it easily caught up to him.

As the Cossowa was now running next to him still looking like a curious brainless chicken, It moved away from him and thereafter it changed at him head-on at a much faster speed than before trying to slice him with its razor-sharp helmet. Sheyken blocked it with Plot Armor but the force of the headbutt was heavy, making him lose his balance while still running and changing his block to Fluid sword at the same time. This made his strikes slower.

The Cossowa using its nimble long neck dogged every trike from his Fluid sword while also countering with its headbutts. Sheyken was liking what he was seeing because each time he would block, Plot Armor would cheap away its razor-sharp helmet. Whenever they met it sounded like two swords clashing.

Separating from each other to avoid a tree they were about to crash in to, Sheyken was quickly trying to think of a strategy to end their battle fast, but head to stop as he saw the Cossowa running up to him and jumping trying to tear his flash with its sharp claws. Thinking this was his chance after seeing a bird trying to fly kick him, he moved his defensive force field from around his body to the Cossowa trying to slow it down in the air and finish it right then.

The Cossowa's reaction speed was fast. As it sensed a force going up its body from the claw it had thrust forward, it quickly launched its next attack.

From Ningals lecture he knew that the Cossowa had small wings with five or six large remiges on each wing which they would reduce to stiff, keratinous quills, resembling porcupine quills, with barbs that would continue digging down flesh every second you do not pull it out only stopping when it reached a bone or came out at the other side of your flesh. They were able to grow them back within 3 days. That it why it was dangerous to hunt it, especially if you have no Blessing or have not created some sort of defense using it.

Seeing it lunch the quills at him before it slowed down in the air, Sheyken knew he could not let even one of them hit him but the Cossowa also wanted to finish its prey right then. It had lunch all 10 of the quills from both wings and Sheyken knew he was in danger from the attack.

He now felt that moving his defensive field was a mistake. Ruby appeared on the palm of his left hand and the dagger, his very first weapon on Uros came out. He was now holding two daggers in both hands. Secretly hoping Shadow was steady enough to not allow fast-moving quills to penetrate through its material and reaching his body, he blocked all the ones that were aimed at his face and vital organs while also using one of his kill 'Maneuver' to alter the course of the others. Thereafter he elongated Plot Armor to a short sword and sliced off the Cossowa's head off, ending the battle.

He was disappointed with himself because in one of his shoulders there was a quill. It was stuck on Shadow trying to dig its way in the material but Shadow was repairing itself not allowing it to go any further. After some seconds it dropped to the ground.

'Zararloch..... it was good you were not here to see this. I have a feeling you would have chopped of my head and turned me into an Undead if you saw that.'

That thought sent shivers up his spine.

'I'm better than this. I need to stop moving my defensive shield or I will learn the hard way why it is called a defensive shield, not a secondary attacking option.'

He put the corpse and quills in the bag then started to leave the area. Using 'Maneuver' always put a tall on his mind and he did not want to face anything that was drawn to the area by the battle until he rested for a while. After an hour of walking, he jumped up a tree to rest. He took out something to eat and looked at the view around him. The forest was beautiful. You would think there was nothing around that would try to kill you when it saw you.

After finishing his meal he meditated for an hour to calm his mind.

"It is time to leave."

He said while looking at the sun. It was late afternoon and since he did not want to spend the night there and did not know how long the way back would take him, he decided to leave and would hunt as he goes back.

He jumped down from the tree and took the compass and dagger from Ruby. After it pointed in a direction, he started running but as quiet as a ghost this time. As he went back he saw many beasts but stayed away from them. He could feel that they had a core.

'I did not see any when I was walking deeper into the forest but now as I want to leave I pass by this many. This forest has too many secrets.'

He thought to himself after seeing a two-meter bat-like creature with a head of a wolf and had claws that were more than 10 centimeters. As his heart was pounding he moved as quietly as possible. That creature looked like it would not care if he had a core or not. It would just have him for a snack.

After running for an hour he stopped. He was now at a river that had one beast he had seen before. It was the one that looked like a Hippo with scales all around its body, only that this one was all black and the scales were only on its tail.

'This one looks like it has not evolved yet.'

He thought while sneaking closer and closer. The body of the beast was so black that it looked like it was absorbing the sun's rays.

'Ningal did not tell me anything about this creature but I know that later on I will have to fight beasts and humans I do not know about. Zararloch did not train me using different beasts by using his shadow clones for nothing. It is time for an assassination.'

With an evil smile, Sheyken looked for a big rock the size of his head. The Hippo-like beast was resting near the river enjoying the hot sun's rays with no care what so ever. Sheyken approached from behind and threw the rock up the sky and then followed after it. He had used one of his defensive field's ability of 'Push' to push himself off the ground making him jump almost 15 meters high, a little bit higher than the stone he had thrown. He then came down as fast as a falcon while holding Plot Armor focusing on the creature's neck.

As the rock fell and was now centimeters above the beast, the scales separated from its tail cutting it into pieces.

'What the fuck did I get myself into!?'

Sheyken screamed in his head as he saw the rock being turned into dust, the process taking less than a second. He had committed himself to this assassination and there was no turning back. Bracing himself and holding on to Plot Armor tightly, he soldiered on. The beast opened one of its eyes to look up, trying to see why a rock would fall on it's head but squinted its eyes as it met with the shining sun. This made it not to perceive Sheyken's falling attack.

Now dropping like a missile while holding Plot Armor with two hands who was now a long sword, he sliced the beast head off with it still squinting its eyes. It died with those last actions. Saluting his move that he pictured looking so cool on a big screen in his mind, he quickly moved away avoiding the blood gushing out.

He was horrified by what he saw. The blood was so hot that it was making the area it touched dissolve.

'Good thing I like Shadow so much that I did not want to get him dirty with blood even though he can clean himself or I would be soup by now.'

He thought looking at the stones that now looked like mush. Knowing how much blood was valuable to mages in the novels he read, after it finishing spilling all over the place, he made Ruby come out at the tip of his finger, placed it near its neck and sucked it all in. He did the same to the head and thereafter put the corpse in the bag.

"That is enough for today. I seem to be getting ahead of myself already. If not for Plot Armor, I would have died just now. I did not know he was this sharp and the blood did nothing to him. I really got a great deal."

He ran out of the area and after an hour and a half of consistent running, he was now out of the forest. The sun was already setting. Not wanting to inconvenience Ningal since she did not want him in the village, even though his eyes were craving to have a glimpse of her beauty again, he blinked to force them to behave and then set up his tent to rest for the day.