Solo hunt II

Returning to the elk's body, Orion marked its location.

Summer was ending, and the Blackstone Tribe was gathering supplies for the long winter.

This elk hunt left Orion with plenty of meat, and he didn't want it to go to waste.

But just marking the spot might not be enough. Orion thought for a moment, climbed a large tree, and hid the elk's body, planning to retrieve it later.

He continued exploring, looking for places with beast tracks to set traps.

Orion's craftsmanship wasn't crude, but the traps could only catch small creatures. Larger prey would easily crush them.

Soon, Orion made a new discovery.

[Beast: Red-Eyed Bunny]

[Level: Standard]

[Weight: 115 pounds]

[Strength: 7]

[Agility: 10]

[Stamina: 2]

Traits: Don't be fooled by their cute appearance; these are carnivorous beasts, skilled in group hunting, but stamina is their weakness.

Orion: "..."

A 115-pound bunny?

These bunnies were larger than big dogs on Earth. When they saw Orion, they instinctively hid in their burrows.

But noticing Orion was alone, the rabbits began emerging, surrounding him.

Their blood-red eyes were unsettling.

I thought bunnies were herbivores... are these bunnies trying a new diet? Orion surveyed his surroundings.

The roles of hunter and prey had reversed. The bunnies emerged from all sides, launching an attack on Orion.

These bunnies were incredibly agile, attacking from multiple directions.

"Whirlwind Slash!" Orion raised his greatsword, seizing the opportunity for a horizontal sweep. With Intermediate Mastery, he instantly killed five bunnies!

Simultaneously, a newbie quest triggered!

[Kill 5/100 creatures with a greatsword to gain Advanced Greatsword Mastery]

[Advanced Greatsword Mastery: Increases damage by 50% and attack speed by 20% when using a greatsword.]

Cool! Besides increased base damage, there's an attack speed boost! Orion's eyes lit up, focusing on the remaining bunnies like treasure.

Despite their size, the bunnies were no match for the Bone Greatsword. Scarlet blood splattered in a circle. Seeing Orion's prowess, the remaining bunnies turned to flee.

But Orion wasn't letting them go! He raised his hand, throwing the spear like a meteor, skewering the rabbits and pinning them to a tree!

[Newbie quest completed: Hit enemies 10/10 times with a spear from a distance, gaining Intermediate Spear Throwing Mastery]

The quest completion message popped up, and Orion felt more proficient with the spear.

He pulled the spear from the tree, attacking again, predicting the position to kill a bunny nearing its burrow!

Another newbie quest triggered.

[Kill 1/100 creatures with a spear to gain Advanced Spear Mastery]

[Advanced Spear Throwing Mastery: Increases ranged damage by 50% and accuracy by 20% when using a spear]

...

In just a short time, he had killed over ten red-eyed bunnies, gaining nearly 1000 pounds of food and fur. This was a significant haul, marking him as an accomplished hunter.

Food was a precious resource, especially with summer ending. As autumn approached, the temperature in the Black Forest would plummet.

This period would become increasingly difficult for hunting, and come winter, they would face severe food shortages.

If luck turned sour and they encountered a large dark beast tide, their situation would become even more dire.

"Little Bunny Foo Foo, I don't want to see you..." Orion hummed as he skewered the bunnies' bodies with his spear and slung them over his shoulder, preparing to head back.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of one of his traps being triggered, followed by the cries of a beast.

"Got something!" Orion quickly followed the sound and discovered a giant lizard!

[Beast: Komodo lizard]

[Level: Standard]

[Weight: 800 pounds]

[Strength: 9]

[Agility: 4]

[Stamina: 8]

Traits: A scavenger with basic toxin immunity, capable of swallowing prey ten times its size.

A Komodo Lizard... Orion was surprised. These lizards weren't part of the giants' diet, mainly because their meat was dry, tough, and slightly toxic, making it nearly inedible.

However, its stomach was highly elastic, making it excellent for crafting storage bags.

While not the best quality, such a storage bag was valuable to Orion.

Orion approached the Komodo Lizard, which was agitated, hissing angrily in an attempt to scare him off.

"Stop making noise, you're annoying!"

With that, Orion used his greatsword to send the lizard to meet its ancestors.

He then began to disassemble the lizard, extracting its stomach.

Orion found a water source to clean out the stomach's contents, then packed the bunnies' bodies inside.

Weapons, uh... no luck.

Orion tried to fit his weapons inside, but it was impossible. Clearly, this Komodo lizard's stomach wasn't as good as the storage bag in his father's tent.

After handling these tasks, Orion looked up. Light filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the forest floor.

"It's getting dark. Spending the night outside the forest is dangerous. I need to head back."

Orion planned to retrace his steps, retrieve the elk carcass from the tree, and return to the tribe.

Unexpectedly, he found a surprise along the way—a lone wolf.

The wolf had been caught in one of his traps, its foot snared, unable to move quickly, leaving a trail of blood.

"Though wolf meat isn't the tastiest, it's valuable food when resources are scarce."

Orion prepared to put the poor wolf out of its misery, but just as he was about to crush its skull with his greatsword, the panel displayed a new quest prompt.

[Feed a beast 10 times to gain Basic Beast Taming Skill]