Early migration

He knew what early migration meant.

The winter hunt was about to commence.

'Now I understand why the warriors had assembled before the tribal hall.'

The warriors had gathered at the tribal hall to strategise.

'An extravagant meal had been prepared in anticipation of the hunt. The meal was prepared to improve the warriors' morale and promote their physical well-being.'

After their meal, Das and the other warrior left.

Meanwhile, Aru remained absorbed in his thoughts, struggling to reconcile with the fact that the winter hunt was about to begin.

'God always throws a wrench into my plans.'

Aru had anticipated having more time to prepare, but everything changed due to the early migration of the creatures from the north.

'I was supposed to establish links with other creatures and study the method of utilising spirit energy.'

'Ahhh!'

'Now I will have to participate in the winter hunt without any ability for self-protection.'

In the Boulder tribe, children who awakened their spirits were regarded as warriors.

Aru was a warrior.

Even though he was just a child, he was obligated to participate in the hunt, just like every other child.

The reasoning behind taking children to participate in a potentially dangerous hunt was for them to gain experience. Children were the future of the tribe, they wanted them to gain experience early on and temper their minds.

It was the way of life for the Boulder tribe.

But Aru was unwilling to accept this fact. Even if they promised not to put the children in dangerous situations, unforeseen circumstances could occur.

Which meant that his life, the second life he got, would be put in danger.

That was unacceptable.

'If only I had a little more time.' He could only wish for it.

'The hunting party would leave tomorrow. I need to at least familiarise myself with using the spirit energy before that.'

Aru began to eat the food faster. The tender well-cooked meat slid down his throat as he downed a mouthful of soup with it. He savoured every bit of the food without wasting even a tiny bit.

The large bowl of soup and meat disappeared quickly.

Without wasting time, he cleaned the bowl and left for his home. He had so much to do.

'Even after getting a second life, I am too busy to enjoy it.'

'No…'

—

Aru arrived home, feeling the energy from the hearty meal coursing through his body. This meal, in particular, seemed to combat his exhaustion more effectively than any he had ever eaten.

'It seems like the tribe had used special ingredients to make the food. Or else the recovery property of the food wouldn't be this good.'

Upon reaching home, he noticed that his spirit energy had reached its maximum capacity. His body was overflowing with energy, signalling it was time to resume his exercises to strengthen his body and delve deeper into the usage of spirit energy.

Typically, individuals had limits to their training capacity. Even if they could consume an infinite amount of food, without proper rest, fatigue would accumulate in their muscles and bones, ultimately forcing them to stop. However, Aru's situation differed slightly. He unexpectedly discovered that his first link, the oak, could heal his body, providing an exploitable advantage.

A single glance at the oak confirmed Aru's belief.

[Rank 1 Oak <Spirit energy 10.0>]

The oak had fully recovered its energy, and this time, the recovery was noticeably faster. Achieving rank 1 seemed to enhance its ability to recover energy.

"With ten units of spirit energy, I can recover one more time at least before depleting the oak," Aru calculated. "This means I can train intensely for one more session. If I focus on only healing my body while recovering spirit energy myself, I believe I can extend it to three times."

"This allows me to train three times faster than ordinary warriors. It's incredible. In the future, with more links, it will only become more powerful."

Despite the unexpected turn of events, Aru refused to succumb to his fate just yet. He maintained a fighting spirit within himself.

"Let's see how this goes."

Aru continued his training for the rest of the day. Eventually, someone approached him with news regarding the winter hunt, instructing him to wake up early the next day and proceed to the shrine.

—

The next day, the morning ceremony concluded with the shaman offering prayers to the trinity totem in the shrine and the sacred tree. Subsequently, supplies were promptly distributed to the warriors participating in the winter hunt.

Aru received a small bag filled with rations, which he slung over his back, securing it with some rope before stepping aside. Due to his age, he wasn't tasked with carrying anything heavy.

However, he could see older warriors carrying heavy bags on their backs. Their nimble movements indicated that the bags didn't feel heavy to them.

The entire hunting party comprised two hundred warriors. When including the children below the age of twelve, who wouldn't directly participate in the hunt, the number rose to two hundred and fifty. In total, this constituted about one-third of the entire tribe's population. Following the distribution of supply bags, the children were led to a nearby open area.

Aru recognized many familiar faces among them, including Dal, the hefty bully, and his followers, along with Para and Thanal, the twin brothers.

Para was the child who awakened a grade three bloodline, the little genius of the tribe and the grandson of the chief. Thanal, the younger twin, had awakened a normal grade one bloodline spirit.

Unlike Aru, most of the children looked happy and excited about going to hunt. They talked to each other loudly and laughed as if they were going on a picnic. To them, participating in the hunt meant honour and recognition.

When Aru saw Dal and the minions, they also noticed his presence. They averted their gaze immediately as if they were scared of him.

'Kids…'

Aru could understand why the children were scared of him. After all, he had knocked down their leader and almost broken his leg. The injury he inflicted, combined with the painful screams of Dal, might have scarred them for eternity.

They knew he was not to be messed with.

'Don't. It makes me feel like I am the bad guy.'

Aru thought when he saw the children avoiding him like the plague.

"Everyone gather around," suddenly, the person leading the children said. "You will be split into groups according to the year in which you awakened. Each group will be allocated a leader, and you follow the command of the leader during the entirety of the hunt. Do you understand?"

"YES," the children shouted in affirmation.

"Okay, now step to the left if you awakened this year." The man commanded.

Quickly, the children stepped to the side. Fifteen of them carried small bags of ration on their shoulders.

"Dam, come here. You will take command of them."

Dam was the eldest son of Das, Dal's father.

Dal smiled as soon as he saw his big brother being selected as the leader of their group. His body, which was cowering away from Aru, became a little more confident.

"Yes." Dam stepped forward and went towards the group of children. However, he didn't look happy.

Dam was sixteen years old this year, a talented rank 1 warrior of the tribe on the cusp of becoming rank 2. This time he was given the job of leading the youngsters who had just awakened.

"Others, select a leader yourselves and come to the west entrance," the man said before leaving.

The children who were in their second year or more were asked to select a leader themselves because they knew what they should do. Unlike the first-year awakened, there wasn't a need for someone to guide them because they had the experience of participating in previous hunts.

—

The west entrance of the village was just by the training ground. The hunting party, Aru included was gathered. Nearby, there was a crowd of people who came to send off the warriors.

"Aru. He is my brother." Suddenly, a voice spoke.

It was none other than Dal. He was pointing at Dam while he spoke.

"Oh!" Aru acted surprised. But he didn't care one bit about what Dal was saying.

"He is strong."

"Oh!"

"Very strong."

"Very!"

"VERY." Dal bobbed his head proudly.

"Why are you saying that to me?"

"Because he is the leader of our group."

"And…"

"Because he is my brother." Dal circled back to the initial reason while raising his eyebrows.

'Dammit! This kid is making no sense. Is he trying to threaten me by saying that he has backing?'

"So, don't ever think that you can bully me again." Dal continued while giving off a menacing glare. However, contrary to what he intended, the fatty looked a little cute to Aru. His threats couldn't faze him.

"Huh!" A little surprised, Aru almost let out a laugh.

'When did I become the bully?' Aru couldn't comprehend what was going on.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes." Aru decided to play along and nodded.

"Hm." Dal nodded and turned to leave.

The conversation was short and it didn't reach anywhere. But it gave Aru a peak into the mindset of the child, Dal.

'The kid was still a kid.' Aru recognised the fact making him reevaluate his action.

'Although it was unintended, I shouldn't have dislocated his knee.' He felt a little guilty.

Shortly after, the hunting party set off under the lead of the chief.