Chapter IV
Silence. Morum stood there waiting to see the reaction of the recruits. Much of them speculated quietly amongst each other. Yppah glanced over at Rydon who just shrugged. Of course he didn't know anything either Yppah thought to herself.
"We're dead." Everyone looked around to see who had said that. Perlonis was on his knees with a glazed look in his eyes and a slight quirk on his mouth. "We're dead." He stated again.
"You're always saying that." Setsuna spat at him. "We're 'dead', we need to not be here. You've been saying it nonstop since yesterday and quite frankly I'm sick and tired of hearing it. You need to get a pair and grow up."
"He's not wrong." everyone looked at Morum as he reconfirmed what Perlonis said. "These Hunter Exams are designed to test you in real life situations and make sure you're really up for our life." Morum walked over to Perlonis and picked him up with one hand to set Perlonis on his feet. "Lust's Appeal will have you fight a monster one on one in the arena, Sloth's Ego will have you run a couple hundred miles, from one city to the next over a week. We of Pride's Hand, have place you in the middle of the Great Jaggi Munt, and see if anyone lives." Silence fell over the crowd as Morum's words sank in.
"Okay, but what is the Great Jaggi Munt?" someone asked.
"Ah, great question" Morum responded. "Every few years Great Jaggi, I'm assuming you know what those are, all travel together to their breeding grounds. This forest acts almost like a homing beacon for the packs to converge as they migrate. A Great Jaggi alone is a formidable task for most beginning Hunters, a pack will take coordination to take down, but the Munt will take all you know, and a little bit of instinct for you to survive. Your test is to survive by whatever means you deem necessary for five days." Morum holds up his fingers as he states this. "One day to prepare, three days to live, and we'll pick you up at some point on the fifth day in this clearing."
Morum walked over to Perlonis, who was now hyperventilating. Adorned on Morum's back was a simple pair of blades. "You're gonna need these." he whispered, placing the blades and a pack in front of Perlonis. After a small smirk, he turned to the crowd. "Basic weapons and provisions will be provided to those who don't have any."
Morum walked over to some weapon racks that had been set up while he was talking. "Remember, you don't have to fight, just survive." as Morum turned to walk away he looked over his shoulder with an evil grin, "Oh, and just a warning, Great Jaggis may not be the only thing out here," and a cloud of smoke engulfed the clearing.
When the smoke cleared Morum and the wagons were gone, and most of the recruits had stunned looks on their faces. Yppah was among them, standing stunned at Morum's remarks. Rydon snapped her out of her trance, yanking her towards the pile of weapons. The other recruits were already scrambling over the neatly placed equipment. Yppah squeezed her way in, managing to grab a sword and shield set before she was shoved backwards. Once at a safe distance, Yppah looked at Rydon. The beast of a man was easily able to force his way into the crowd, emerging with a long sword.
"That was chaos." retorted Yppah, slightly out of breath.
"Well, That's what you get when you throw everyone in a survival situation. It becomes a free for all." Yppah looked around as the other recruits dispersed into the surrounding wilderness. "Guess we are on our own for now." Rydon rummaged through what was left of the provisions, but anything useful was already taken. Yppah walked up behind him.
"We should get moving. I'm almost certain that there are jaggis coming this way." Rydon nodded slightly, slinging his sword over his back. The two of them start their journey through the dense forest, each anxious with about the week ahead of them.
Perlonis was the first to leave the meadow. He had no plan and no clue where he was going. All he knew was that he needed to find a good place to lay low and wait out the munt. A flurry of thoughts swirled through his head as he ran. What am I going to do? How long can I last? Will I die out here. Through his thoughts he hears what sounds like a stream. Perlonis stopped, figuring out the direction of the stream, then darting towards the sound.
A jaggi yelp stopped him in his tracks. Perlonis felt his heart beat even faster as he pressed against a tree. An opening was only a few meters ahead. Perlonis looked through the trees, towards the source of the yelp, but couldn't see anything. The thought of running away emerged, but he banished it. I need water. After taking multiple deep breaths, Perlonis creeped towards the opening. Pressing himself against another tree, he sneaks a peak.
Nothing. Perlonis stayed, cautiously scanning the area. Still nothing. Perlonis exhaled deeply as he continued his attempt to calm down. He scans the riverbed one more time before finally walking towards it. Dropping his pack, he leaned down and cupped water from the stream. After a few gulps, Perlonis gazed towards his bag.
He rummaged through the contents, making a mental list. A canteen, flint and steel, basic medical supplies, A single portion of jerky, a carving knife, and a compass. Hopefully this will be enough. Perlonis filled his canteen, his eyes ever scanning the surroundings. Once finished he quickly repacked his bag and began moving, knowing that being stagnant is a great way to be killed. A worry grew in the back of his mind, but he shook it off the best he could. Finding a shelter was the only thing on his mind.
Near the river stood a cliff face, which Perlonis gravitated to. Cliffs usually mean caves. He thought to himself, forcing his way through some bramble. Perlonis froze. A great jaggi lay asleep in front of him. He turned around and attempted to leave. As he stepped away, a small snapping noise echoed off the cliff. Perlonis looked down, seeing that his foot crushed a twig. You gotta be fucking kidding me. This is too cliche to be happening right now.
A gurgling sensation manifested in Yppah's stomach. It had been hours since she last ate. "We should find some food." Rydon stated, obviously hearing her stomach's protest. Yppah simply nodded in agreement. The duo walked for another minute, but stopped once they heard a noise. Rydon turned his ear towards the source.
"I think we just found dinner." Rydon said, getting low. Yppah mirrored his movement, still straining to hear what Rydon heard. Yppah sighed as she came up empty. Yppah followed Rydon into some bramble, who then stopped. He parted some of the twigs, showcasing a meadow, and in the middle of the meadow stood a kelbi.
"I don't think it's noticed us yet." Rydon remarked, a frown appearing on his face. "Though I doubt either of us can get close enough to actually catch the thing." Yppah scrunched her face, examining the surroundings. She spotted an opening in the shrubs near their location.
"I might have a plan." Yppah exclaimed, pointing towards the opening. "See that choke point? You hide over there and I'll try and lure it towards you. When it get's close, attack." Rydon peered at the opening and nodded, silently making his way towards it. Yppah snuck around the outside, making her best attempt to not scare the kelbi. She positioned herself behind her prey. Her attempt was in vain, as a distant roar spooked the kelbi, it running in a random direction.
"Fuck." Yppah cussed as she watched the kelbi prance off into the forest. Rydon stood up, but stopped as another roar sounded off again, this time much closer. Rydon crouched back down and motioned towards Yppah to follow. She did as instructed and walked slowly towards the stated direction. They both stop as they heard another sound.
"Fuck fuck fuck fuck." Repeated a familiar voice. Yppah perked up as realized that the stream of profanities belonged to Perlonis. She quickly stood up and ran towards the noise, Rydon following close behind.
"We could just leave him you know." Rydon called out behind Yppah.
"I don't want anyone to die on my watch Rydon." Yppah yelled out behind her.
"Even if he does get eaten by a Jaggi it'll just be that much easier to take out." Rydon replied as he caught up to Yppah, his longer strides making it easy to catch up. Yppah halted in her tracks and stared Rydon evenly in the eye, or at least as evenly as she could.
"Perlonis's death would be on my conscious and I can't let that happen," Yppah stated. "And I don't think you could either." Yppah then turned and continued running towards the noise.
"Dammit" Rydon cursed, "You're just gonna get yourself killed." Rydon starred in the opposite direction for a few moments. "And what kind of hero would I be if I just let you do that alone." Rydon turned and ran after Yppah, "Damn me for a fool" he whispered to himself.
A roar echoed through the trees, causing Yppah to stumble slightly. The force of the sound caught her off guard. It was like someone smacked her in the chest. The jaggi was close. She jumped over a small line of brush to see a purple blur cross her vision. Oh shit. Yppah thought to herself. She looked to where Perlonis was running from, seeing the great jaggi running towards her, only a few strides away.
Yppah acts instinctively, swinging her shield at the charging beast. It connects with the side of its jaw, sending it tumbling past her. A sharp pain shot through her arm, hitting the beast much harder than she expected. She forgot about the sync gems amplifying her strength.
"Wow." Rydon remarked. "You just bitch slapped a great jaggi." Yppah smirked at the compliment, trying to hide the pain that radiated through her arm. "Though we aren't done yet." Rydon uttered, clutching the hilt of his long sword. The jaggi recovered from the surprise attack, shaking it head. It barked at the two newbie hunters, keeping its distance.
Yppah clutched the hilt of her sword, her hands shaking. It was actually happening, she was actually fighting a monster, and it hit her like like a brick. I can't do this. This thing is huge and I have no clue what I'm doing. Perlonis was right, I'm going to die. She began shaking even more violently than before. That's when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked back to see that it belonged to Rydon.
"Look at you, being scared and all that." Rydon scoffed. Yppah nodded back, taking a deep breath. She gathered her composure just in time for the beast to strike.
The jaggi lunged forward at Yppah, flailing its large hind claws at her. Yppah lurched to the side, dodging its attack while slashing the beast. It didn't wound the jaggi, the dull blade skirting across the jaggi's thick scales. Rydon dashed forward next, slashing his sword in a long arc.
The jaggi intercepted his attack, slamming its tail into Rydon, the force sending him into a tree. Rydon released a grunt of pain upon impact. He rose back to his feet, coughing up a small amount of blood in the process. Rydon simply smiled. "You're dead now." he scoffed, wiping the blood with his sleeve.
"Great threat, now how do you expect us to kill this thing?!" Perlonis griped.
"Why are you here, I thought you would've kept running." Yppah spat out.
"Trust me, I having got the slightest clue either. Something about protecting the world or some shit like that." Perlonis replied, his voice shaking.
"Nice to see that you've grown a pair. As to answer your question, I'll kill it with some good old fashioned determination." he replied, dashing at the creature once again. The jaggi bite at Rydon, who sidestepped and swung his sword. To his dismay it also skirted across its scales. Yppah looked upon the fight in the distance, as Rydon weaved in and out, his hits simply glancing off. Our swords aren't sharp enough. She thought to herself. Just then a thought appeared and she turned towards Rydon.
"I got an idea, Rydon to me. Perlonis, distract it." Yppah spouted out. Perlonis looked at her like she went crazy.
"How the hell am I supposed to do that! Sing while doing the hula?"
"I don't know, figure it out, you've already pissed it off once." Perlonis scowled at her, before turning his attention towards the great jaggi.
"You're crazy!" he yelled.
"I know, deal with it." Yppah quipped back. Perlonis looked down. I can't believe I'm doing this. He thought to himself. Raising both hands in the air he started prancing and yelled at the Jaggi.
"Hey look at me! I'm pretty, and tasty come and eat me! EAT ME!"
Perlonis's tactic succeeded, surprisingly, drawing the attention of the great jaggi. Rydon ran over to Yppah.
"So, what's the plan?" He asked.
"Throw me." She commanded.
"W-what?"
"You're strong right, you could do it."
"Perlonis was right, you have gone crazy." Rydon remarked.
"Just trust me here." Rydon stared at her in confusion before giving in.
"Alright, let's do this." He said, cupping his arms on the ground. "Get a running start." Yppah nodded, taking a few steps back before sprinting towards Rydon. She used his hands as a springboard, him vaulting her over his shoulder towards the beast. The speed caught her off guard slightly, but she didn't have enough time to think about that. She watched her sword plunge into its shoulder as she slammed into the scaly beast.
Blood splattered all over her, before her body crashed into the ground. She tumbled a bit before grinding to a halt. Yppah coughed, gasping for breath and whimpering in pain simultaneously. She tasted blood in her mouth, but she wasn't sure if it was her own or if it's from the jaggi. She looked up to see the great jaggi still standing, her sword lodged within it's side.
The Jaggi turned toward Yppah and took a few steps toward her, rage filling its eyes. Someone, something had hurt it and now everything had to pay, but first on the Jaggi's list was the person directly responsible. Letting out a terrible howl the Jaggi lunged forward to rip Yppah apart. Yppah tried to move out of the way, but her body wouldn't budge. When the Jaggi was within a few yards of Yppah a figured dropped out of the canopy onto the Jaggi's back.
Setsuna stood on the creature's back and bellowed out
"That's enough you wretched creature!" And swung down with her weapon crushing the creature's head.