chapter 320
320 – Side Story Hunter of the Wandering Island (2)
Rabbit.
When Chester was young, the first game he caught was a rabbit, but the rabbits on the wandering island were very different from those outside.
First of all, athletic ability. It seems to have similar agility to a rabbit, but its turning ability and bone strength are on a different level.
Even though they run fast, they turn sharply to run away, and even step on a wooden pole, jump up and climb a high tree, and then fall down and run away, showing off all kinds of movements that are close to acrobatics that ordinary rabbits cannot do. .
That alone is a threat, and these rabbits even fight in a different way than the rabbits outside the island.
When the rabbits outside the island have to fight an enemy, they attack by swinging their arms vigorously, but these rabbits rush with their whole body and headbutt.
Because the skull is hard, this headbutt is quite painful. If it’s Chester, it’s just a pain, but if it’s Ars, it can be dangerous.
And Ars was working hard to hunt such a fearsome and powerful rabbit.
Ars has two parents.
Chester. Monia.
Although they came from different backgrounds, the two people who settled down on this floating island after a long journey were connected and could be seen as the same hunters.
Just as Chester was raised as a hunter by his father, a hunter, Monia was raised as a hunter by Chester, a hunter.
However, even though they were a couple, their hunting styles were different.
Chester’s father was the type of hunter who actively used traps. He waits for his prey with keen observation skills and unwavering patience.
On the other hand, Chester is a primitive hunter who uses traps but relies more on his physical abilities to hunt. He chases and catches his prey with his own feet. It would be more appropriate to describe them as predators and prey rather than hunters and prey.
Monia could be said to have a strong image of a hunter spread among the so-called nobles. Just as nobles enjoy hunting with a bow as a form of entertainment, she prefers hunting with a bow rather than using traps or anything else.
Chester, there are differences in skill likes and dislikes, and he knows most other hunting skills at a high level, but she did not force the level of education and environment she received on her son.
Above all, the educational environments of Chester and Ars, where I was able to meet many talented teachers thanks to my broad-minded father, are very different.
Ars is learning techniques and the spirit of a hunter from Chester and from Monia, two hunters with different tendencies.
He handles the bow like Monia and his body like Chester. That was the hunting skill Ars was learning.
“Whoop! Whoop! Phew….”
Ars took a breath and relaxed, looking at his prey today.
There, a rabbit was grazing peacefully. And coincidentally, there were few trees nearby that rabbits could use as stepping stones and obstacles.
‘I still can’t shoot as far as Mom or Dad.’
Knowing that, Ars lowered his body and carefully approached the rabbit using the bushes.
And Chester and Monia were watching Ars from behind.
Ars thought it was a hunt he would do alone, but there was no way he would really let his son into this dangerous forest alone.
With Monia’s Starflower, you can snipe close to a hundred shots, and Chester is watching from a distance he can approach as quickly as possible.
“Well, you shouldn’t touch the bushes like that.”
“You’re all listening, right?”
“Yes. “They don’t react because they think the distance is long enough to run away.”
The rabbit’s ears were moving all the time. I was aware of everything Ars was doing.
Ars seems to move in his own way, hiding, but animals are more sensitive than Ars imagines. When he catches a rabbit, Chester also doesn’t make a plan to ‘hide and approach’.
Because it is impossible in the first place. The only time they can approach through the animal’s guard network, which detects even the faintest sound they can’t hear, is when a rabbit is mating.
“I think I can hit it by shooting from that distance.”
Monia said, looking at the distance Ars had approached.
“You can do it! Our baby! Go for it!”
“No, our Ars is a genius, but he’s not yet capable of hitting that position from that distance.”
“Are you working hard to practice hiding and shooting?”
“The posture and environment are different from when practicing. “Because we haven’t had them practice in various environments yet.”
At first, Monia also fired her arrow far to the side of her target. She has excellent skills through intense combat and consistent practice.
“My child can do it!”
“No, it’s difficult. More than anything, I think Ars himself is having a hard time.”
“You have to trust your son!”
“Oh, I shot it.”
Monia, who had turned her head to Chester for a moment, looked towards Ars again at Chester’s words.
It was just as Chester said. Ars shot an arrow.
Closer than Monia thought, but farther than Chester thought.
The arrow was stuck near the rabbit and the rabbit started to run away.
“It would have been better to shoot a little closer. “I could have gone closer.”
“Let’s do that later and pursue it!”
“Yes.”
Ars got up and started running after the runaway rabbit, and Chester and Monia also started running.
While running, the rabbit used its strong hind legs to turn its body to the side and ran away at a right angle. Ars, who saw this, hurriedly turned to chase after the rabbit.
“Ugh!”
However, the moment he turned his body, his body slipped on the leaves on the floor and fell, and while Ars fell, the rabbit disappeared into the distance.
“Ouch.”
Ars got up, looked at his bruised and bleeding elbow, and took out the cloth he had brought with him.
Although it was said to be cloth, it would actually be difficult to call it cloth.
This was an item made with the weaving skills that Chester and Monia learned while spending time on the continent until they arrived on the island.
Find the bark of a tree whose fibers are delicately separated, use a cotton cloth, put it in water with the top elixir dissolved in it, and pickle it for a long time.
By doing so, you can create a bandage that has the special effect of disinfecting the wound and speeding up healing.
The Chester family called the bandages made this way bark bandages.
Ars, who had a bark bandage wrapped around his elbow, thought about chasing the rabbit he had missed, but decided to look for another rabbit.
This is because I learned that it is difficult to catch an animal that has lost its vigilance after failing to hunt once.
To catch such a beast again, the best way is to either have an excellent tool like Monia’s Starflower that can snipe from a distance where it may not even reveal its presence, or to dig and prepare a thorough trap and then hunt the prey there. .
However, it was impossible to prepare items like starflowers, and it was realistically difficult for Ars to thoroughly prepare traps and hunt in droves on his own.
Ars grew faster than children of the same age and had excellent physical abilities, but he did not yet have monstrous physical strength like Chester.
So give up and find new prey.
“Phew.”
Perhaps he was heartbroken over failing to hunt, Ars sighed as he trudged through the forest for a while.
It was clear that Ars was depressed as his shoulders were drooping and his face was down, so Chester and Monia, who were following Ars, began to worry about whether or not they should go next to Ars and comfort him.
“What should I do? Should I appease Ars?”
“No, wouldn’t the child be hurt if he showed us the current situation? Ars is also a boy. There must be pride.”
“Ugh. Men are difficult….”
Ars, who had been walking in the forest for a while, slapped himself on the cheek to come to his senses and began looking for traces of the rabbit.
Chester looked at the traces of the rabbit left near Ars and laughed when he saw Ars diligently looking around.
Chester set up a hunting area for Ars.
Now is the time when ant wolves cannot function well, so this place, which is the ant wolf’s territory, becomes a safe space without any special predators.
A lot of rabbits and other herbivores who knew this were gathered around here.
Animals that feel safe move around leaving clearer traces than when they travel elsewhere.
The safety of Ars is guaranteed to some extent, there are many animals to hunt, and it is easier to find traces than other places.
Because it is a perfect place for hunting practice, this was chosen as the location for Ars’ hunting practice.
“Ah! Found!”
After searching around for a while, Ars confirmed that the rabbit’s poop that had fallen had not dried yet.
“Hmm.”
Monia sounded slightly frustrated. Chester, who saw that, chuckled to himself.
Monia’s frustration with Ars’ behavior only seemed cute to Chester.