Chapter 2: Hunting and Being Hunted

Chris slowly opened his eyes as the first rays of sunlight reached the entrance of the cave. For a few moments, he simply lay there, staring at the stone ceiling while his mind slowly became clear. The pain in his right side was still there, and his leg wasn’t much better than it had been the night before.

He let out a quiet sigh and slowly pushed himself up, using his arms to support his weight. His body felt stiff from sleeping on the cold stone floor, but after spending years in the Wilds, sleeping in uncomfortable places had become something he was used to.

Reaching for his water bottle, he took a few small sips, making sure not to drink too much. His water was running out, and he still had a long journey ahead of him, so every drop had to be used carefully.

He slowly stood up, using the cave wall for support.

His right leg shook slightly when he put his weight on it, and a sharp pain traveled from his leg through the rest of his body.

"Damn..."

He stayed against the wall for a few moments until the pain became easier to tolerate. He knew his wounds weren’t serious enough to stop him completely, but they were bad enough to slow him down, and that could become a problem if he encountered another powerful beast.

His gaze shifted toward the entrance of the cave. He couldn’t stay here.

The cave had been useful for the night, but it wasn’t safe to remain in one place for too long. The beasts of the Wilds constantly moved through the forest, and there was always a chance that something would eventually discover his location.

Picking up his backpack, he checked what remained inside.

His food supply was low, his water supply was even lower, and there were only a few useful items left. His knife was still with him, so that should be enough for now.

He adjusted the straps of his backpack and made his way toward the entrance. Before leaving, he looked around the cave one last time to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything, then stepped outside into the cold morning air.

The forest was quiet. He looked up through the branches and estimated the position of the sun. It was still early, which meant he had plenty of time to travel before nightfall.

Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out an old map.

The map had clearly seen better days. The paper was covered in folds, several parts had been repaired, and some of the markings were so faded that they were difficult to read. Even so, it was one of the most valuable things Chris owned.

He spread it against the trunk of a nearby tree and studied the markings.

The map showed the outer regions of the Wilds relatively well, but the farther north it went, the less information it contained. Large parts of the northern territory were almost completely blank, with only a few old landmarks marked along the edges.

He ran his finger across the map.

There was a large river somewhere farther north, followed by a mountain range and several areas that had been marked as dangerous beast territory.

That was where he wanted to go. Deeper into the Wilds.

Chris had already traveled farther than most people would ever dare to go, but he still hadn’t found what he was looking for. He had spent a long time reading old books and ancient records about rare beasts, searching for any information that could give him another possibility.

One of the things that had caught his attention was a collection of ancient texts describing rare lizard species that lived deep within the Wilds.

According to the texts, some of these lizards lived near rivers, caves, and rocky areas far away from human settlements. Their descriptions were incomplete, and some of the pages containing their names had been destroyed, but there had been enough information for Chris to become interested.

He had never seen any of those species before.

That was exactly why he wanted to find them.

If he could find one of them, there was always a chance that it might qualify for a contract.

It was a small chance, but after years of failure, he had learned to hold onto even the smallest possibilities.

Folding the map, he carefully placed it back into his backpack before looking toward the north.

"If those old records are right..."

He started walking.

Keeping his profile low, he moved through the forest while carefully watching his surroundings and keeping his steps light. He avoided dry branches and leaves whenever possible, and when there was no choice but to step over them, he made sure to do it slowly. Years of training had taught him how to move quietly.

When Chris had first entered the Wilds, he had been terrible at it. He made noise without realizing it, left obvious tracks behind him, and often failed to notice signs that a beast had recently passed through an area.

Those mistakes had almost killed him several times, but he had learned from every one of them.

Now, moving through the forest without drawing attention had become almost natural.

For several hours, he traveled north, occasionally stopping to listen before moving on. The deeper he went, the thicker the forest became. He was so far from civilization that it would take him months to return. There was nothing here except trees, rocks, rivers, and beasts.

Eventually, his stomach began to growl.

He was already searching for something he could eat. After a few minutes, he noticed an apple tree growing between several larger trees.

Walking toward it, he didn’t immediately take the fruit.

He first checked the ground around the tree, looking for tracks or other signs that a beast had been feeding there. Finding nothing suspicious, he reached up and picked one of the apples.

He wiped it against his shirt before taking a bite. The apple wasn’t very sweet, and it was much smaller than the ones sold in the cities, but Chris didn’t care. Food was food, especially this deep inside the Wilds.

He placed a couple of apples into his backpack and ate another few before stepping back from the tree.

Turning around, he headed north again.

The forest became quieter as the hours passed, and Chris noticed that even the smaller animals seemed to avoid this part of the Wilds. He slowed down and became more careful, knowing that a quiet forest wasn’t always a peaceful one.

Sometimes, it meant something dangerous was nearby.

He moved on until he suddenly heard a strange sound coming from somewhere ahead.

He stopped and listened. There was a low, frustrated noise coming from between the trees.

Lowering his body, he carefully moved toward it, pushing aside a few branches as he approached. After a few moments, he finally saw the source of the sound.

It was a deer, and the animal was trapped.

Its antlers had become stuck between several thin trees, and the more it struggled, the tighter they became. The deer desperately tried to pull its head free, but the trees had trapped it firmly.

He watched it for a moment. The deer was extremely thin.

There wasn’t much meat on its body, but it was still food, and Chris couldn’t afford to ignore easy prey.

He slowly pulled his knife from its sheath and began approaching from behind.

His steps were almost completely silent.

Carefully placing each foot on the ground, he avoided dry branches and leaves as he moved closer. The deer continued struggling with its antlers and didn’t notice him approaching.

He moved closer, and the distance between them continued to shrink until he was only a few steps away.

The deer suddenly stopped moving.

Chris froze.

For a moment, he thought it had noticed him, but the animal simply lowered its head and tried to pull itself free again.

He took advantage of the moment. Stepping forward quickly, he drove his knife into the deer’s neck.

The deer barely had time to react before its body went limp.

He pulled his knife free and looked around the area before beginning to work. He couldn’t stay for too long because the smell of blood would eventually attract other beasts.

He carefully skinned the deer, doing his best not to damage the hide. The quality wasn’t great, but it could still be useful.

He folded the hide and placed it inside his backpack.

’This should help with winter...’

He then began cutting the meat into smaller pieces. The deer was so skinny that he barely managed to collect enough meat to fill one side of his backpack, but it was still better than having nothing. If he rationed it properly, it should keep him moving for a few more days.

After packing everything, he cleaned his knife and returned it to its sheath. Adjusting his backpack again, he headed north .

The weight of the meat and hide made the backpack slightly heavier, but Chris didn’t mind. Having something to eat was worth the extra weight, especially when he still had no idea how long it would take to find one of the rare beasts he was searching for.

The sun slowly moved across the sky as he kept walking.

His injured side began hurting more as the day continued, and his leg was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. He slowed his pace whenever the pain became too strong, but he kept moving forward instead of stopping completely.

He had already spent too many years searching. He wasn’t going to turn back now.

After some time, he suddenly heard something behind him - a heavy sound.

*Crack!*

A branch snapped somewhere in the forest, and Chris stopped immediately. He slowly turned his head.

At first, he couldn’t see anything. Then the trees began to shake.

His hand moved toward his knife as something large approached.

A massive black paw appeared between the trees, followed by the head and shoulders of an enormous beast.

His expression changed when he saw it.

A black bear.

And it wasn’t an ordinary bear. The beast was massive, easily larger than a normal bear. Its thick black fur covered its entire body, while its enormous paws looked capable of crushing a person with a single strike.

Chris slowly took a step backward.

The bear stared directly at him, then it raised itself onto its hind legs.

He looked up at the beast. It was nearly four meters tall.

"You’ve got to be kidding me..."

The bear opened its mouth and released a terrifying roar that echoed through the forest.

He didn’t wait to see what would happen next. Turning around, he ran as fast as he could.

A sharp pain immediately shot through his injured leg, but he forced himself to keep moving. Branches hit his face as he pushed through the forest, and his breathing quickly became heavier.

Behind him, the bear charged.

The sound of its footsteps shook the ground.

He jumped over a fallen tree and nearly lost his balance when his injured leg landed awkwardly. Catching himself before falling, he continued running, knowing that even a small mistake could give the bear enough time to catch up.

He gritted his teeth and pushed himself harder as he heard it getting closer.

His lungs were burning, his wounds were starting to feel like they were on fire, and every step with his injured leg became more painful, but stopping wasn’t an option.

Then he saw something ahead.

It was a cliff!

His eyes widened. Beyond the edge was a huge river.

The water below was moving rapidly between large rocks, and the distance was high enough that jumping would be extremely dangerous.

Chris quickly looked behind him.

The bear was already closing in, and there was no time to find another path.

He turned back toward the cliff.

"Fuck..."

Taking a deep breath, he sprinted toward the edge.

His pace quickened as he approached the cliff, and the bear was only a short distance behind him. He knew that if he hesitated, he would die, so he didn’t slow down.

For a brief moment, he could see the massive river far below. Then he jumped.

His body left the cliff and started falling toward the water.

The wind rushed past his face as the ground disappeared beneath him. He clenched his teeth and tried to position his body for the impact, but there was little he could do at that height.

*Splash!*