Chapter 5 Human Courage
Looking at his hands, which were covered with calluses and had thick joints, they were much rougher than those of his peers, but also much stronger.
The injured right hand was still trembling slightly, which seemed to reflect the fear deep in his heart that even he himself did not want to face.
Are you afraid of being pierced by those fangs?
Are you afraid of being crushed by those giant hooves?
I am just a trainee hunter who is just seventeen years old and has not yet become a full-time hunter. It is normal that I cannot defeat the big wild boar king. Isn't it okay to wait until I become stronger to regain my place?
Gordon tried to comfort himself, but such thoughts made the depression in his heart heavier.
It is simply more uncomfortable than the congestion that was stuck in the throat just now.
He took out his hunter's notebook and looked at the hunter's guild emblem imprinted on the cover of the animal skin.
When the profession of hunter had not yet appeared on this land, what mentality did those ancestors have to face those monsters that could not be resisted by human beings?
There is no strong armor or sharp weapons.
There is no support from a variety of props and intelligence.
There is no way out of "getting stronger and regaining ground".
Only the people and homeland that must be protected behind him, and the courage to come out.
What about yourself?
Has your courage been completely shattered by the sudden advance of the Big Wild Boar King? Even if he puts on sharper weapons and stronger armor later, will his hands no longer shake?
After retreating this time, do you really have the courage to stand in front of that guy again, or even initiate a charge?
Walking outside the tent, under the bright starlight, Gordon once again looked at the hunter's knife in his hand that had been with him for a whole year.
The blade is not sharp enough, but it can still leave scars on the Big Boar King.
The shield has cracks, but it still remains intact.
Close your eyes.
The backs of the pioneers, dressed in thin armor and holding simple knives, still shouting and charging towards the monster, came to mind.
A subtle but bright emotion, like fire, bursting out from the depths of the soul.
Not fear, not impulsiveness, not even hysterical recklessness, but something more fiery.
Gordon opened his eyes and looked at his right hand, which was still numb but no longer trembling, and murmured to himself unconsciously:
“Is this courage?”
He patted his cheek hard until two ridiculous red handprints appeared on his face.
Put away the notebook that symbolizes the status of "Hunter", put the blade into the sheath, tie the buckler to his right arm again, and tighten the strap.
“Then, let’s start again!”
Two hours later, Gordon returned to the camp.
The effect of the dye ball allowed him to roughly grasp the direction and distance of the Big Wild Boar King. He did not choose to approach the opponent rashly. He still needed to make some preparations before the official battle began.
During the time he left the camp, he searched the nearby mountains and forests and worked hard to collect all possible materials. These seemingly inconspicuous gadgets may become important weights in subsequent battles.
At this time, he was sitting cross-legged on the ground in the tent, sorting out the messy things in front of him.
“Seven medicinal herbs, a few pieces of honey, a seed of patience, four blue mushrooms, three poisonous mushrooms, and two paralysis mushrooms.”
Some of these materials were just collected by him, and some were collected in the storage box two days ago.
“First, the recovery medicine.”
Although the ratio of the ingredients is not right, and it has not been properly extracted and blended, the potion cannot achieve the optimal effect, but time is tight and there is no time to worry so much.
What's more, I was lucky enough to find a beehive and harvest a lot of honey.
According to the instructor's "secret recipe", he added a large amount of honey to the recovery potion. This can greatly enhance the effect of the recovery potion and make the bitter potion taste better.
The amount of recovery medicine that has not been extracted and concentrated is a bit too much. Gordon felt a little numb when he saw the medicine filled with the iron pot for making soup.
After gulping down half the pot, Gordon let out a loud burp.
These crude recovery medicines are indeed not as effective as those carefully mixed and stored in small glass bottles. They are effective but are better in large quantities.
More than half an hour after drinking the potion, he felt that the pain in his right arm had almost completely disappeared, and the dull pain caused by the impact on his internal organs no longer existed.
With a little more rest, you should be able to return to full victory.
He poured all the remaining potion into the water bag for easy consumption later.
He also made use of the messy mushrooms that were a local specialty.
In the past, he belonged to the martial arts school who disdained the excessive use of props, but now, his idea has changed—methods that can increase the success rate of hunting are good methods!
Many hunters like to use raw meat with added ingredients to attract monsters and induce them to eat them, thereby weakening them.
Such as paralyzing raw meat, poisoning raw meat, etc., which may sound despicable, but are very effective hunting methods.
The Big Boar King is an omnivorous monster. They also eat meat, but what these guys like most are the mushrooms that can be seen everywhere in the forest after the rain.
Gordon decided to use this to set a trap for the Big Boar King.
It’s best if you succeed, and there’s no loss if you don’t succeed.
However, it is not that easy to fool these guys who have lived in the jungle for generations, eat mushrooms and have a sense of smell more sensitive than a dog.
Paralytic mushrooms, poisonous mushrooms, etc. Although they are mushrooms, if you put them in front of it, it will never even look at them.
A certain degree of disguise is necessary.
For this reason, Gordon dug out the most expensive settlement item he had collected in the past few days from the storage box—the giant matsutake mushroom.
This peculiar mushroom that grows deep in the Xiuretsen Hills has an extremely mellow and fragrant nutty aroma. It is a rare and delicious delicacy not only for humans, but also for the Big Boar King.
A single one can be sold for a price several times higher than the reward for this mission. Being able to collect it is as lucky as winning the lottery.
Gordon endured the heartache and chopped up all the large matsutake mushrooms. After mixing these fragrant mushroom mince with sticky honey, he applied a thick layer on the pile of poisonous mushrooms, paralysis mushrooms and sleeping mushrooms.
Hope to deceive the big wild boar king's sense of smell.
As for the appearance, it doesn’t matter. Everyone knows that the big wild boar arches its nose back and forth when looking for food. When the smell suits the appetite, it will directly eat it without using its eyes to see it.
After making Black Heart’s bait, Gordon carefully crushed a poisonous mushroom he intentionally left behind, and spread the purple-black juice evenly onto his hunter’s knife.
This poisonous mushroom contains poison that is deadly to humans, but it also has a certain effect on monsters.
I heard from the instructor that some hunter weapons use special monster materials that are rich in poison, so that they have a "poisonous" attribute when attacking, weakening the physical strength of the hunting target.
His crude method, which is not even poison quenching, is definitely not comparable to those advanced weapons, but as long as it can cause a little more trouble to the Big Wild Boar King, it will be worth it.
Looking at the sky, there were still about four or five hours until dawn.
Gordon lay down on the bed.
Even though he was very excited and had trouble falling asleep, he still closed his eyes forcefully and tried to force himself to fall asleep.
For the subsequent hunting, he must reserve his strength and recover from his injuries.
“One Ellu, two Ellu, three Ellu.”
A few minutes later, there was only a slight snoring sound, echoing lightly in the small tent.
(End of this chapter)