Wrong Choice

"Nope, this wasn't a bad dream… I need to make some breakfast", I said to myself after waking up in the morning. Once the fire was ready and my food slowly cooked, I assumed the pose my father told me to practice. Thanks to the constant practice, I was really close to reaching the four minutes mark. "Although I'm happy about such improvements, that's not my priority at the moment. I have to find a river or a stream today". Besides something to drink, I really wanted to wash myself.

Thankfully, I was able to find a small and quiet stream in the afternoon. The water was clean and a bit on the cold side, but tasted alright to me. "Though the stream is not big, I can at least wash myself a bit. Now that a source of water is readily available to me, I can set a proper camp here", I said to myself. A proper camp in my eyes was something that could protect me from rain and wind. The weather was getting rather cold, which meant winter would be arriving soon.

With that in mind, I got to work. The task was really challenging, and took me a few days to actually finish. Although the shelter looked much better than my first attempt, I wasn't so sure about its ability to protect me from wind or water. 'I should've taken the skins off of those boars as well. I could hang them around the shelter or even lay some of them on top of the roof. That would cover the holes much better than dying leaves', I thought.

There was no need for me to hunt, with the amount of meat available to me. The idea of killing animals just to get some skins wouldn't be right. "I'll just deal with it one my food supply runs dry". With all my basic necessities taken care of, my focus could shift towards the training aspect of this journey. The control of my energy was the most important to me. One day or another, my energy would be able to leave my body and affect the outside world. When that happened, a perfect control was a must. This would make my life a lot easier, since Formations would become available to me.

Most of my time was spent on the energy control practice. I used the rest of it to either practice my sword and movement technique, or my senses. Occasionally, a pack or sleuth of animals would pass by my shelter, and attack me. Thankfully no major issues occurred.

The time slowly passed. Day by day, my survival in the forest continued. The winter season was really difficult though. Not only was it cold and snowing frequently, my shelter required many modifications thanks to the harsh weather. Fortunately, my food supplies were mostly large, and the skins of the animals provided some protection.

The rough winter passed, while warmer spring greeted my battered self. I managed to get through that difficult season, and even improve myself in the process. There were two more rhymes I managed to develop, making my movement technique a bit more unpredictable. My sight improved a bit, since that was my main focus. The control of my energy progressed too. Though it could've been much better, I was satisfied with the progress.

The pose wasn't as difficult anymore either. My body adapted really well under the hard conditions. That allowed me to stay well over four minutes, while assuming that pose. As for the progress in that Art of Stealth, there wasn't any. I had no clue how to avoid the light. Hiding wasn't something I could practice in the middle of a forest, with nobody around.

One morning, I found a note next to my bed. This was the first time I actually received something from the two masters. The note said that my efforts were not bad, but it was time for me to move on. They told me to head north-west, and explained how to find the north-west direction. Besides that, no other information was on that note. Nothing about my destination or training. 'They could at least come here and tell me that… I mean, it's been so long since I held a conversation with someone… I will go crazy at that rate', I thought, a bit annoyed.

Nevertheless, my new task was set. Using the sun and its position, I could find the north-west direction rather easily. During the spring, the sun would rise from the east as always. Moreover, the sun's position during winter and spring was considered to be in the south. Therefore, as long as the sun was behind me, I had to head forwards and left. Not overly difficult to figure out, but they did caution me that it wouldn't work forever.

Before leaving though, I packed a few skins into my bag. Cleaning them was a real pain, and they were still very usable. Water would become an issue again, since no containers were available to me, of course excluding the medicine.

Travelling alone was really boring. With no one to talk to, I had to say things out loud just to hear my own voice. Surviving turned out not to be the most difficult part, but the solitude. The two masters didn't interact with me at all. I really hoped that a village, town or anything would appear on my path.

A few days of treading the forest later, my hopes were sort of fulfilled. I encountered a group of Humans on my path. They seemed surprised to see me alone, but remained cautious when I approached them. "Hey, it's nice to see fellow Humans around here. How are you guys?", I asked politely. "What do you want, stranger?", one of them replied with his own question. "Nothing, or rather is there any settlement nearby?", I asked.

They didn't seem eager to provide me with any answers. They asked more questions instead. "Are you a hunter? Where are you teammates?", another man asked. "Well, yes sort of. I don't have teammates, so I'm alone right now. Anyway, I'm heading towards the north-west, are there any villages in the vicinity?", I tried asking again. "Heh, why don't come with us then? We are on our way to a village", another shifty looking man replied. I didn't like that man's gaze, so I declined.

"Hey, hey. Don't be like that. We could use some help, you know? Besides, we can learn from each other and about each other, right?", the first man added with a smile. I didn't like his smile either. "Can't you just tell me where the village is? I can get there by myself", I tried one last time. "We can, but it will cost you", the second man said. "I don't have money though… I can give you a bottle of medicine in exchange", I proposed.

"We don't need medicine. There are other ways you could pay us, you know?", the third man replied. I finally realised what they referred to. "You wish. In that case, there's nothing I want from you people", I snorted before turning away with an intention to leave. "Hey, lady! I think it would be in your interest to follow us. The forest is really dangerous, if you catch my meaning", the first man added. "Have a nice day", I dismissed his threat.

They didn't give up though. Instead of forgetting and letting go, two of the men walked towards me. I quickly unsheathed my sword and turned around. "Nice weapon lady, can you even use it properly? How about you give me this weapon, and I'll show you what's what?", one of them asked mockingly. "Yea, being rich is good and all. Though lives can be easily lost inside the forest. We are actually doing you a favour, why resist? With us, you'll be REALLY safe", the other man said.

"Mind your own business. If you force me, I'll fight back", I warned them. "Hehe, look at her being all defensive and whatnot. Come on, it's a shame for such a young lady to be eaten by a pack of wolves", the third man tried to persuade me. "What do you say, huh? We can do it the easy, or the hard way. Let us do you, and we will leave you alone. Hell, we'll even tell you where that village is. Just a bit of fun, no one's harming anyone here, right?", the second man said, with a big grin on his face.

That last comment really angered me. "Back off, or I'll attack", I warned one last time. "She's getting all worked up... Don't worry, baby. You'll soon scream un…", before he could finish, I used my movement technique to rush at him. "Crack!.. Argghh!", my sword's blunt side broke his arm, rendering it useless for the near future. The other man tried to jump me, but he was weak. "Swoosh… Pak, ulgh…". Using the pommel of my sword, I struck his stomach.

Before the last man could utter anything else, I rushed at him as well. They didn't even reach the Outer Limits stage, and their techniques were lousy. They were a bunch of lowlifes. The last man fell to the ground, after my sword slammed his side. They were defeated.

"People like you deserve death. Answer me, where did you come from?", I asked, full of anger. "Ughhh… We were mistaken… We didn't know you were a warrior, please forgive us... Don't kill us…", the first man pleaded. "Answer me, and I will leave you alone", I replied. "... There's a village about two days away from here... It's in that direction… Now, let us leave", the man replied. "Give me your map", I demanded. "We… We don't have a map", he replied, but I didn't buy that.

"You can give it to me willingly, or I can take it after dealing with you. Your choice", I threatened. "Alright!... I'll give you the map", he exclaimed before reaching into his pocket. I expected him to try something shady, but he took out a map and threw it at me. "Here… This is the map. Now, let us go. We will never appear in front of you again, I promise", he pleaded again. Before leaving, I checked the contents of that map. 'This looks to be real. Though there's no village in the direction he pointed. That bastard tried to deceive me again'.

'I should leave. Looking at them makes me angry', I thought before turning around to leave. My father was right, loads of crazy people lived in our world. To think that some random group of hunters tried to exploit a woman like that. 'What if someone was too weak? What if they do it again, but with a weaker woman?', I asked myself.

That thought made me stop in my tracks. Another thought appeared in my mind, 'Should I let them leave?'. The moment that thought entered my mind, my head turned towards them. Before realising it, my body followed suit… I was walking back at them. "...Hey.. you promised!", the man exclaimed. Without a word, I grabbed him off the ground and punched.

One punch after the other flew at his body, his screams never ceased. My anger was starting to take over my senses, I was beginning to enjoy that. Before I went too far, I dropped him back to the ground. "Remember this. Try that again with someone else, and I will find you. One day, you'll fall into my hands. Then, fate worse than death will await you", a sinister voice left my mouth.

As the man screamed in pain, I decided to search his clothes. '...This must be the currency Humans use. I'll be taking that then'. The other two didn't fare any better. One had a broken arm, the other was mostly alright. I could feel my face grinning, as my body moved towards the least beat up guy. "Bam, crack..", I kicked him to the ground, breaking something in the process. '...That's enough… Stop!…', I said to myself while grabbing my head. Barely able to contain my anger, I ran away from that place. They were alive, I didn't kill anyone… Even though such scum deserved the worst.