Chapter 30 - Hunting

It had been ten months since Joren had learned of Chakras and Dantians and he hadn't progressed with them at all. He was hoping that it was as simple as pouring mana into them, but every time he did, his mana would be rejected which would then backfire, slightly causing him pain. 

Deciding to put those off until further notice, Joren shifted his focus to cultivating his other eleven meridians. To his pleasure, his meridians didn't reject his mana, but to his displeasure, he wasn't able to cultivate them either, so with this, he also decided to put this off until further notice. 

Needing to shift his focus elsewhere, but still wanting to improve his skills, Glenn offered to teach him hunting to which he happily accepted. So for the past ten months, Joren had been learning how to hunt. 

At first, it started with small animals like squirrels and rabbits. Then he moved on to slightly larger animals like foxes, wolves, deer, and so on. On some occasions, he would have to confront a wolf head-on because he either wasn't stealthy enough or he simply missed his shot with his bow. 

He wasn't allowed to use his mana while hunting. Glenn forced him to use his natural strength and senses while hunting so he wouldn't heavily rely on his power. In fact, Glenn made him and Grace train their senses without mana stating that if they improve their body naturally, not only would the circulation of their mana naturally improve, but they would be a lot stronger when they used mana since their body would be stronger. 

After he graduated from hunting mid-sized animals, he went on to hunt larger animals like bears or lions. Every time he hunted, he would sell their meat, skin, and fur to make some money for his future. 

Glenn eventually told Joren that he was ready for the next step to which he was confused. He asked how could he move on to the next step if he could already hunt animals like bears. But to his shock, Glenn had laughed at his question and told him that animals that have mana exist and are called mana beasts. 

You see, the books Joren had been reading were trash books, meant for literal kids, not meant to teach growing people. He had never explored the village either since he didn't care to. He only focused on getting stronger and enjoying his current life, so there were a lot of things he didn't know, things he would have to learn. 

Today, Joren was hunting a mana wolf. It was large, larger than any wolf he had seen. Its fur was so dark, that even at the peak of the day, it could effortlessly blend in with the shadows and gaze at its prey with its blood-red eyes. Yellow claws, so sharp they could cut through trees protruded from its paws with silver spikes coming from its back which also matched the color of its fangs. 

Mana beasts are the same as normal animals but the difference is that they have mana. Once an animal awakens their mana, they undergo a metamorphosis and change into what people call a mana beast. Not all mana beasts have the abilities. The wolf Joren is currently hunting is called a Shadow Wolf. It can blend and turn into shadows. It can also fire the spikes from its back and is very fast. But there could also be a fire wolf or a light wolf. 

"This is going to be tough. How the hell am I going to hit something that can turn into literal shadows? That's cheating." Perched up on a tree branch, Joren was observing the shadow wolf's habits. He had been tracking it for the past few days, studying its travel paths, and hunting times, and locating the places where the wolf rested. 

After gathering as much information as he could, he decided that today was the day he would hunt the beast. Mana beasts also have strength levels. Some can be around the 1st circle level while others could be around the 8th circle. Currently, Joren was hunting a wolf at the level of his own strength, the first circle. 

The wolf walked over to a water stream and started drinking. "Yeah, that's it, good doggy. Drink that water and don't suspect that there is a person in the treetops trying to hunt you so I can make a quick buck while polishing my skills." Speaking to himself, he nocked an arrow and aimed at the wolf. 

"Steady now, steady." Inhaling then exhaling, Joren aimed at the wolf's back aligning with its heart, and released his arrow. 

Joren sat there on the tree watching as the arrow glided gracefully through the air. He watched how the wolf continued to drink its water, unaware of the danger lurking above it. As soon as the arrow was about to connect, the wolf vanished into its shadow and disappeared from his sight. 

"You gotta be FUCKING kidding me!!!! Stupid fucking wolf and its fucking cheats. Just stand still and let me kill you God dammit!" He punched the branch he was perched on causing it to break and sending him falling to the ground. But Joren wasn't scared or anything, he casually landed on his feet without any injuries and started looking for the wolf. 

"Now where did you run to my shadowy friend?" Since he couldn't use his mana while hunting, he had to rely on his normal senses making it harder to find the wolf. 

'Shadow Wolves travel in shadows but it's not foolproof. You should be able to see movement in the shadows but since there are a shit ton of trees around here, shadows are everywhere.' He kept looking around trying to find clues or movement but he came up short. 'I might have to act like prey to catch it off guard.' Mana beasts aren't like normal animals, once they are threatened, they will attack unless overwhelmed. They aren't easy to scare off. 

Joren walked up to a tree and sat down putting his back against it. He closed his eyes and relaxed his body, acting like he let his guard down. He put down his bow and held his knife that was strapped to the back of his waist. 

The wolf, currently in the shadow of trees looked at Joren cautiously. It waited to see if he would do anything but when it saw him put his guard down, the wolf approached him slowly. 

Jumping from shadow to shadow, the wolf approached Joren viewing it as its prey. It snarled softly and walked quietly as it got closer to Joren. As it was in the shadow of the tree that Joren was lying on, the wolf's head slowly came out of the shadow and attempted to bite his head off. 

*STAB* Before the wolf could get its jaw around Joren's head, he stabbed its upper jaw with his knife, leaving it jammed in its mouth. 

"Arrwoooo!" The wolf wailed in pain retreating back into the shadows as blood trailed from its mouth. 

"Yea that's right you stupid mutt, go back in that stupid shadow of yours! I would say you're worse than my rival (the tree from training) but at least it didn't run away like a little bitch. (trees can't move). Wait, you're a fucking wolf, so that means you're literally a bitch! Hahahaha, oh god I crack myself up sometimes." Joren picked up his bow and followed the blood trail the wolf left behind. Before catching up with it eventually 

"Hello little mutt, you have something of mine, and I want it back!" Joren notched an arrow and fired at the wolf's leg, but the wolf quickly moved out of the way dodging the arrow. Joren then fired another one which led to the same result. 

"Fuck man, this would have been easier if I could use mana. Whatever, let's do this the old-fashioned way." He threw his bow and quiver to the ground and approached the wolf while cracking his knuckles. 

This was a very stupid thing to do considering Joren wasn't allowed to use his mana, but he didn't care. He ran at the wolf which prompted the wolf to run at him as well while opening its jaw, howling. 

Times like these would call for an epic clash between the two's epic powers leading to a magnificent explosion. But instead, the wolf pounced on Joren and tried to maul him into an unrecognizable piece of meat. 

Using his left arm to shield himself from attacks, Joren reached into the wolf's mouth grabbing his knife and accidentally deep-throating it in the process while scraping his arm on its sharp teeth. He pulled the knife out of the wolf's mouth and slashed it in the eye. 

"Arwoo! GRRRRR!" Saliva dripped from its teeth while blood ran down the side of its face. The wolf looked angrier than before. At first, it looked like it wanted to hunt Joren simply because it was threatened. But now, it appeared that the wolf was pissed off. 

"I like that expression if you can even call it one. One-eyed shadow wolf Cyclops-looking bitch. I'm going to kill you, and after I do that, I'll wear your fur as a trophy. Then I'll find if you have cubs, and when I do, I'll kill them as well, then sell their parts for money after pissing on their corpse. Now, let's dance you bastard." 

Joren ran at the wolf with his knife ready in his hand. The wolf pounced at him, trying to sever his head with its claws, but Joren swiftly dodged out of the way, grabbed the paw, and cut it off with his knife. 

The wolf didn't even have time to howl in pain when it felt a rock hit its gashed eye. Joren came running at the wolf with the face of a villain looking to find a new test subject for their horrible experiments. 

Feeling scared, the wolf ran away and tried to leap back into the shadows, but before it could, it felt a knife implant itself in its hind leg causing the wolf to collapse, not entering its shadow. 

Walking up the to wolf slowly, Joren removed the knife and started stabbing and sashing the wolf all over. He gouged out its eyes, cut its tongue, and impaled its brain. Even after it was dead, he continued to brutally mutilate the wolf until he finally calmed down. 

"Fuuuuuck! I've been in this forest for too long, I'm losing my damn mind. I miss my mommy." Joren grabbed the mutilated wolf and walked back to the village.