Hunter

Streams of flame came at high speed as Evan, Klaus, Hana, the wolf, and the bear cub pressed themselves to the ground, as tightly as possible.

The fire passed right over them, melting the snow and disappearing over the river into thick streams of steam that filled everything around them.

Then, Evan looked up to see a veritable rain of blood, showering them with dark and thick drops, from an already dead monster, a true monstrosity on the face of the earth.

Pieces of flesh covered the entire ground, leaving not a single spot untouched by blood that like a small stream began to flow in the opposite direction of the river. 

"What happened...?" Klaus gulped, with eyes wide open.

"We're saved...? Is it over?" Hana flinched, not believing it had happened.

The steam slowly settled, revealing a tall, muscular figure, walking beside the bloody stream. It picked up its axe from the ground, placed the weapon on its back, and walked through the veil, revealing itself.

The man was over two meters tall, looking at the people he had saved with a wise gaze. The hide of some rare beast covered his mighty body, he had several flasks on his belt, and his tall boots could go through any, even the highest layer of snow.

The man had black hair, dark eyes, a short beard, and a thick mustache, for him frost was not a problem, for he was someone who stood at the top of the food chain of any forest - a hunter.

"You guys escaped from that prison, didn't you?" The man pointed in the direction they had come from as if he were following them.

Evan only nodded briefly.

"Agh, you've done well. You made that parasite scream, it's the only reason I was able to realize what was going on here and help you in time." The man sighed and held out his hand.

"Halvor, just a simple hunter."

Evan grabbed his wrist, rising from the ground, "Evan, escaped slave."

"Not bad, not bad at all! Hahaha!" Halvor laughed, shaking the air with his powerful bass.

Then, his gaze drifted sideways to the wolf and bear cub standing in the distance.

The wolf seemed to recognize Halvor, they stared at each other for a while, then the wolf walked over to the bear cub and poked his nose into its back, causing him to run forward towards Halvor.

Puzzled and lost, the bear cub had no choice but to approach Halvor, whose sage gaze was as kind as an old man who had seen life.

"Come on. Come with me, it will be hard for you to survive in this forest alone. You're lucky to have these brave fellows by your side this time." Halvor said, throwing a glance at Evan, Klaus, and Hana.

Halvor opened his broad palm, with its long ago roughened skin.

Timidly, the bear cub placed his paw on Halvor's palm, thus making an unspoken alliance.

The wolf nodded, turned, and headed away while droplets of blood fell from his chest.

"Wait!" Halvor exclaimed, "You're hurt! Come with me, I'll help you recover!"

In response, the wolf only growled a snort before disappearing among the lonely dry trees filling the forested part of the snowy mountains.

"Well... I guess that was pointless..." Halvor scratched the back of his head.

Step. Step. Step.

Across the bloody ground, Hana ran to Halvor, put her palms together, and tilting her head asked, "Please let us stay with you, at least for a little while..."

Halvor got a puzzled look, then he stroked Hana's head, and a kind smile passed across his face.

"Sure. I can't leave you here, especially after everything that's happened. You did a great job letting me kill that parasite in one attack. Furthermore... I have a potion that will reduce the activity of your eye."

Hana's face turned pale, and Evan and Klaus became wary.

One way or another, Halvor couldn't have been a simple hunter, considering how much power he had shown and how easily he had found out about Hana's cursed eye.

However, Halvor didn't pay attention to it at all. He simply put the bear cub on his shoulder and headed forward, leaning over the corpse of the mutated moose, or rather what was left of it, on the way.

Halvor picked up a white round crystal that obviously shouldn't have been in the body of a normal beast.

"First Rank Core, not bad." Halvor smirked, "Don't worry. I know a way for all of us to benefit from this core. I'm not going to take it for myself."

Evan and Klaus glanced around, quickly making a decision. They had only two choices: go with Halvor or don't, so... their choice was crystal clear.

...

Among the snowy ridge, many mountains covered with thick snow, striving with their peaks to reach the sky where the clouds passed serenely, casting shadows on the lonely but persistent forest that had become home to beasts, from birth and forever there was one place built by man.

From the wooden house located on the mountain slope, which could only be reached by an experienced hunter, smoke was coming out as well as a pleasant aroma that took the inner coziness to a new level.

Klaus and Hana sat by the furnace, covered with blankets, their knees pressed together with the bear cub who sat between them. By nightfall, even without the blizzard, the cold had intensified, and the wind was truly brutal, however, here they had nothing to worry about.

At this time, Halvor and Evan were chopping vegetables, for the soup boiling in a large cauldron over the fire in the center of the room.

"Hey kid, you're hurt worse than the others, you should rest. I can handle the vegetables myself, after all, I've always done it alone." Halvor glanced at Evan, dropping a piece of meat into the soup.

Evan smiled slightly as he shook his head, "Well, I am indeed injured, but not so much that I can't handle potatoes. I'm good with a knife, you know."

Halvor shrugged, and they continued cooking in silence, only the sounds of bubbling soup, clattering knives, and the crackling of the furnace could be heard.

When all the ingredients were cut and only a few minutes left for the soup to cook, Halvor put the knife aside and looked intently at Evan.

"Come on. Speak up, you obviously want to ask something, don't you?"

Evan smirked, "Sure, be prepared to answer a few questions at once as well as listen to my offer."

Then, Evan took out a crystal sphere from his pocket, inside of which was a crystal arrow like a pointer on a compass. It was turned in only one direction - north.