So let's review. I am stranded in a mountainous forest far from Mayer's home. I have one week to get back to Mayer's estate. Mansion. The Ninth Circle of Hell. Whatever you want to call it. In three days the combined forces of the Maids and the Twins will hunt me down and try to capture me.
Considering they're Hunters, they've got a better chance of catching me than I have of staying hidden. Let's throw fighting or evading off the list of options. The Maids themselves are stronger than Kalvin and Clyde, and the Twins still beat me six shades of blue and black...
Whatever. I couldn't worry about that at the moment. I needed to stay calm and take account of what I had and where I was. I had nothing but a black winter parka, black winter pants, black socks, a full-body long johns(the fuck?), underwear, and a pair of black boots and gloves. Guess the black color means something. At least I had no weights strapped on, that was a pleasant surprise. Next, orientate myself.
All around me where white trees that looked like birch. They weren't. They were a different kind of tree called Elder Weiss. They only grew on this funky planet and, when young, did look like birch trees. The difference between Birch and Elder Weiss was Elder Weiss became big fucking trees as they never stopped growing. Literally. While birch can grow pretty big, they don't grow Sequoia tree big. And these suckers kept on growing until gravity and natural damage keeled them over and they smashed into the ground. Imagine a white forest with giant black and white trees that you could build an Ewok hut around.
It would have been beautiful if I weren't trapped in the middle of it. But the fact that I was in a forest full of these trees meant I had a clue to where I was.
I was further towards the state of Certes than near the Gordeau desert. That made sense. Mayer wanted me as far and as confused as possible. Too bad I'm an ol' kollege edumucated-type smartie pants person that paid attention to the giant bastard's lessons. These trees grew sixteen kilometers away from my trainer's home. That meant I was at least ten miles away from my goal. I definitely wasn't ten miles away, but a man could hope.
I needed more information on my position. I trodden through two feet of snow and tried to find some more landmarks to help. The trees blocked my view of the sky, being hundreds of feet and all. Unfortunately, that meant I couldn't find any mountains to pinpoint where my position was. As I trudged through the snow, I grew frustrated. There were no discernable landmarks I could find, not even a rock or a shrub! After a while, even the white and black trees started to look the same. They bled together and made it hard to track where I was going, so I left marks on the trees to at least leave a trail.
Something was bugging me. There was something off with this forest. I couldn't quite place a finger on it until after fruitlessly wandering for more than twenty minutes. It was dead quiet. The only thing I could hear was my breathing and feet smushing snow. Contrary to popular belief, winter was loud. Hard snow on the ground and bare trees made sound travel further. You'd hear something during winter, no matter how unbusy it was. But I heard nothing, not a howl of a wolf or the crack of a moving branch. Even the wind was quiet.
Even in the dead of winter there was some life. But it was as if the forest was dead for some reason. I don't care what the reason was, I just don't want to find out.
"If you feel something is wrong, do not ignore it. Never ignore it."
Mayer's words echoed through my head as the hairs on my neck stood up. I needed to find out where I was.
Immediately.
I stared up at the trees and found the smallest one. I slowly took my gloves off and rubbed the white and black tree with my hand. It was smooth and white, while the older ones were rough with black and grey cracks. This one was the smallest and youngest one around by maybe a few decades. It was as thick as a telephone pole and about as tall as one. It'd give me a good starting point to get onto the taller trees, even if it would be harder to climb. And I'll admit it, I was scared of falling from the bigger trees.
Hell, I was scared of falling this tree.
I sighed and prepared to grab on to the bark of the unblemished tree. With a hop of my feet, I jumped up and grasped the bark with my hands. As I gripped the skin of the tree, I tore right through it like it was made out of dried pasta. I fell backwards onto the snow and smacked the back of my head against a buried root. All I could do was sigh with pent up anger.
I thought back to my strength training. Eight exercises with seven sets each, ten reps per set. One minute between each set. A two-hour marathon of me screaming at the top of my lungs as I moved weight no human had any right to lift. A pair of muscle-bound German(or Swedish, or some fucking European analog) teens yelling motivational crap when I really wanted them to shut up. The strength training the twins put me through was a bodybuilder's nirvana, so an absolute nightmare for me.
And I did that.
Every.
Single.
Day.
When combined with supernatural shenanigans, my strength had grown by leaps and bounds. Unfortunately, my muscle control hadn't kept pace.
My body wasn't used to the ridiculousness that I was going through. My muscles were conditioned to think I was moving huge weights instead of something ordinary. That was not good. Most people would find moving through knee-high snow a nuisance, but to me, it was the only thing stopping me from hyperextending my knees with each step. Every movement I made had to be slow and deliberate. It was fortunate I took my time taking off my gloves or they'd be in pieces.
It'd take me some days to get used to my strength, especially without weight strapped to me twenty-four seven.
Oh.
Oh fucking Mayer.
I almost smacked myself in the forehead before I stopped myself. Knowing how strong I was, I'd probably knock myself out by accident.
My trainer was smart. The way he looked and spoke you tend to forget it, but he wasn't just a brute. He knew I would struggle with my strength, and I never noticed before because I only ever dealt with superhuman people. The twins were far stronger and tougher than me, and the Maids' appearances belied an equally insane physicality. Claudette admitted to being weaker than Briannaisa and yet I saw the blonde toss a giant log like a javelin once.
I hated constantly wearing weights, but now I was wishing I had them on. By now I had reached a total of around one hundred and eighty-one kilos or four-hundred pounds of body weights on me at all times. I didn't know it at the time, but the weights he made me wear also helped control how much strength I used.
The bastard put me in a real pickle. If I moved too slow the four would catch me in this white forest. I was unmissable: a giant black spot on a white surface. They'd have to be blind not to see me.
But if I moved too fast I risked tearing my body apart...
Fuck it, I couldn't do this slow. I don't have time to train my muscle control correctly. It was risky, but I had no chance of beating the four of them if they were let loose.
I got up and brushed the snow off my body as I stared up anxiously at the stupid tree. I shook my arms to try and ease my nerves and get my mind into the task. A quick breath, a squat, and I jumped up towards the tree.
And up.
And higher than I thought possible as I smashed into the tree with all the grace of George of the Jungle. Before I completely lost all respect for myself, I quickly latched on to the tree with my arms and legs. The bark cracked and broke under the grip of my limbs, sticky resin oozing out, but it held. Slowly I transferred the weight to my palms and pressed. At the same time, I pressed the balls of my feet against the tree to get a foothold. It was surprisingly easy to hold up my body weight. I knew how strong I was, but experiencing it was a completely different thing entirely.
Slowly I began to climb. I quickly realized my strength let me cheat the climb up. Where most people had to find footholds to grab with their hands and feet, I could just dig my fingers into the tree like I had claws. I had a few close calls as I became more comfortable with my strength, recklessly tearing through the bark by accident like it was rotten wood. Fortunately it became easier as I climbed, almost effortless as I scaled to the top of the white tree.
When I finally reached the top I was grinning ear to ear. It was strange having this much strength. I felt like Hercules or Spider-Man. Looking around I saw plenty of thick branches the width of my forearm. With a quick twist of my wrist, the branch snapped off as easy as breaking a toothpick. I waved the branch, it was about as long as my arm and as thick as my forearm. My smile grew bigger as I felt more and more confident I could pass this test. Since I couldn't climb with a big ol' stick, I tossed that sucker down to the ground. I'd pick it up later.
I looked around to see that, yes, this tree was minuscule compared to the rest around it. It was hilariously small, and now felt silly being so nervous about climbing a tree. Above me was an enormous branch from one of the older trees that was close enough for me to reach. With one arm I pulled myself up as I slowly released my 'baby's first tree climbing' tree. Hanging off the branch one-handed, without any problems, made me truly realize something.
I was strong!
I was super strong!
"Woohoo!" I yelled as I easily pulled myself up by one arm like a monkey. I didn't even strain as I muscled up the branch with ease. I felt like a child figuring out how a new toy worked. As I got up from my knees, a smile spread across my face as I was now riding a new high I never felt before. I stared down the tree branch that was as thick as the trunk I just got off of. An idea struck me. An incredibly stupid idea.
I ran down the tree branch and took a quick skip before l launched myself up ten feet. I flew towards the trunk of the tree, this time ready as my super strong fingers dug into the wood like they were talons. I felt like a lepoard, lunging up the tree with reckless abandon as I laughed at my new power. Is this what it's like to be superhuman? It felt amazing! Intoxicating!
I bounded up the trunk with speed a squirrel would find jealous as I became more confident in my strength. I almost didn't need my legs to climb. Sticky resin and weak bark would fall aside as I tore into the tree with my raw strength. My fingers acting as climbing picks and my arms like steel pistons as they worked in tandem to climb, rhythmically stabbing into the bark as I ascended ever higher. My core acting as a stabilizer to stop my lower body from swinging side by side and thereby ruining my beautiful defiance of reality.
But all good things must come to an end. I fucked up. I'll admit, I got cocky. Instead of patiently clawing my way up the massive tree, I decided to mix things up. I tried to jump off the bark and grab onto a nearby branch on my right.
That was a mistake.
My arm moved too quickly as I reached out for the branch. As a result, I painfully hyper-extended my right arm and flinched at the most important moment: grabbing the fucking branch. My hand slid uselessly against the bark and I began to fall.
Adrenaline shot threw me like a jolt of electricity as I was suddenly free-falling more than a hundred feet down to the snowy forest floor. I twisted myself in mid-air like a cat as I quickly shot my left hand out at a fast-approaching branch. Fingers desperately clawing into the tree the way a pet cat desperately tries not to be pulled off furniture. For a horrifying second, I thought my fingers wouldn't penetrate deep enough and I would plummet to the ground.
Thankfully my fingers managed to dig in and I abruptly stopped. Not thankfully, I felt sharp, burning agony as the sudden stop wrenched my shoulder out of its socket. I couldn't help but roar in pain as I hung their uselessly like drying laundry. The only thing I could think of while suspended by my arm like a child's doll was that I deserved this for getting overconfident.
I stared up at my left arm. It was disgusting to look at. My skin, ligaments, muscles, and tendons were all that was keeping my arm attached to the rest of my body. It looked horrible. The black parka distorted my arm's length so that it looked even longer. So as I hung there in agony, my entire body weight being held by my grotesquely long arm. Thank god my hand was practically nailed into the wood from the impact of the fall or I'd have let go from sheer pain.
Unfortunately, the branch was now too far from my right arm to reach.
That left me only one option.
I would have to use my legs to swing my body up
I took a deep breath as I summoned up the courage to do what I needed to do. My face contorted into a mask of suffering as I swung myself up with my legs. I screamed. Thank god my fingers were embedded into the wood as I managed to bend my body over the branch and land on my belly. I laid there for a moment as sweat rolled off my face from pain, only for even more pain to tell me to turn over.
I did as my body told me to do, anything to stop the pain. I reached over and used my right hand to pry my left hand from the wood. I gingerly cradled my left arm with my other as I slowly walked to the trunk of the tree, careful of any loose snow under my feet. The pain in my shoulder was terrible, but it would be far worse if I fell off the tree because I slipped.
The tree trunk was as wide as two people lined up head to toe. It was a beautiful white, with black knots all over the tree. A lovely tree. I would soon hate it as I lined my left arm into its shoulder socket and pressed it against the tree. Air hissed out of my mouth as I counted down to three and quickly rammed myself against my dislocated shoulder, popping it back into place. My mouth worked on its own as I tried and failed to stifle a scream of pain. With my free hand, I feebly punched the tree in anger and pain. I did my best to endure the wave of electricity like pain that radiated from my shoulder.
I slumped down against the tree and stared at the canopy above me. "I can't believe I got my ass kicked by a tree." I said bitterly as I lightly moved my left arm. It felt like hell, but I could move it. I stared at my left hand, little splinters were stabbed into my flesh. Slowly I picked them out with my right hand. I'd need my hand to continue climbing up.
"'You have potential. Three critera: Intelligence, will and tenacity, dead. Neh, neh, neh' Eat a dick..." I whined in a high pitched voice that resembled nothing like Lady Zhulong. After ten minutes of picking splinters out of my left hand and making sure it wasn't broken, I stood up. I decided that I needed to at least prove one of the first two criteria right and prevent the last one from happening again.
I turned around and climbed the tree, this time making sure to go slow. My hand dug into the tree as easily as before, but my left shoulder protested in pain. I did my best to shift most of my weight onto my right hand. My right hand pulled me up while I did my damn best to only shift weight to my left arm when had to. Considering the tree was something like three hundred feet, 'had to' was far too often than I liked.
A climb that should have taken me ten minutes took me close to an hour. When I finally reached the top I was ready to be angry, instead, I found a breathtaking sight.
An orange sun was suspended lazily in the sky as its light mixed with the thin clouds around it to make the horizon a beautiful purple morning. The brilliant orb was lingering over three mountains that were thirty-two kilometers or twenty miles away, but they were so big that they seemed far closer than that. White snow-capped mountains towered over the dipping and curving landscape in front of me. Miles of treetop stood between where I sat at the topmost branch of the massive tree and the rest of the mountains. I could feel a light breeze tickle my face, scattered snowflakes squeezing through the opening of my hood and kissing my face.
It made me realize how...big the world was. Not just this world, any...worlds. All worlds. I knew for sure that there were multiple worlds, multiple universes, multiple everythings. I've experienced it, and now I was standing on a big-ass tree that doesn't exist back home. What was the point in me being here? I was just some dude, I don't even think I'm as smart as the stupid goddess thinks I am.
Who would I met? What would I be? Where would I go? Was I even James anymore? I didn't have his face anymore. I had his anxieties and worries. I could scale a tree like a mountain lion and yet still almost kill myself like a spaz. Would being a programmer matter when I could run faster and lift more than any athlete back home? Shit, what does that say about who I would be competing against in the Hunter Exam?
I stared at the horizon as lazy clouds drifted overhead. The sun rose from the east and set in the west. And right now the sun was barely rising above the mountains. That meant it was early morning. Millions of people waking up to a new day. New possibilities. New beginnings. And not one of them was seeing the world from where I was. No one else saw a pure white forest shining brilliantly in the morning dawn.
I was the only one on the planet.
Is this what it felt like to be a Hunter? To be free? To see sights no other person could ever dream of? I can see why one would wish to be a Hunter...
I sighed in awe at the vista before me. I guess it wouldn't be too bad to be a Hunter and live on this strange Earth. Hell, if Mayer was any indication, I'd be set for life. I've never been ambitious, but seeing the world around me and all its possibilities...
I guess I wouldn't mind being a Hunter.
After a few minutes of admiring the landscape at three hundred or so feet, I broke out of my reflection. Time to get to work. Those three mountains meant that direction was towards Certes. I spun around to see the mountain that I was most familiar with. A slightly crescent shaped thing that was two miles high. At the base of that mountain was Mayer's home. I could even see where the Elder Weiss stopped growing and the familiar forest where oak, pine, fir grew. Fuck these giant-ass trees.
I wasn't annoyed that I nearly tore my arm off because of these things. Nope, not one bit.
The mountain that held Mayer's home (now dubbed Mayer Mountain), was faaaar off. It had to be a hundred kilometers, about sixty miles and some change. I sighed, I could run that in a few hours if the terrain was flat and there weren't obstacles in my way. I could safely walk three to four miles per hour in this kind of terrain. Sixty divided by three point five...
Jeez, about seventeen hours. That's in a perfect world, but still... I could make it in three days if I walked only eight hours. Outside self-destruction (eh, which I already proved was possible...) this seemed far more than doable. I needed food and water though, but water took care of itself. I was surrounded by SNOW, so not much of an issue. Food was different, it'd be hard, but I could forage something in this place.
What I needed was-
I saw something.
Keeping my eyes straight towards Mayer Mountain, I used my peripheral vision to scan the trees in front of me. There. Something moved, something that blended incredibly well in this forest. I couldn't get a clear picture of it without looking straight at it...
"If you notice you are being watched, do not look back. If you think you are being hunted, continue the ruse. The longer they believe they are hidden, the longer you have to prepare. The longer you have to prepare, the more likely your chances of survival."
Mayer's advice only applied if a humans were hunting me, but I don't think whatever was watching me was human. It jerked its head back and forth in an animalistic way. Maybe some kind of white bear? But bears don't climb up stupidly big trees, and they hibernate during the winter. Maybe big-ass owl? I read somewhere Mothman could have been a mistaken owl. Or was it a crane?
Whatever it was, it kept staring at me. One thing was certain: it had red eyes. It only thing that stood out against its white appearance.
I needed to get down. I turned around to and noticed another pair of eyes staring out among the treetops. This time I managed to scan over its position, pretending I didn't notice.
It was an ape. A white ape the size of a medium-sized person. White fur and black skin that allowed it to blend perfectly into its environment. It had enormous fangs that jutted out of both the rows of teeth. Unnervingly enough, its angry, demonic, pitch-black face was spewing out hot breath with rage into the winter air. And it was only a hundred or so meters away.
Calmly I began climbing down. I used the handholds I created into the wood to descend. I didn't rush, taking a steady pace as though I had my guard down. My left shoulder screamed in pain as I put more weight on my left arm. I couldn't afford to show weakness right now. All I could do was grit my teeth as hard as possible as I made my agonizing climb down a three hundred-foot tree.
I could hear noises as something shifted behind me. I did my best to not to panic and kept staring down at the white tree. Fear started to grip my mind as my imagination ran wild.
How many were behind me? A handful? Dozens? Were they preparing to launch rocks and branches at me? What if I was safer in the trees?
I tried my best to push it all down as I continued my slow descent.
A hundred and fifty feet. I was halfway there. But the sounds were becoming louder. I could make out the sound dozens of feet moving over wood. Branches shifting, snow being spilled to the ground, loud breathing intensifying. Adrenaline shot through me as I realized why these woods were so quiet before. It took everything I had not to start hyperventilating. My lips felt as dry as the desert I'd been running in for the past few months.
Fifty feet. Almost there. I began to really worry when I heard whispered howls and hushed grunting. I tried, I tried damn hard to keep my breath steady as I felt the vibrations rumble down the tree I was descending. I didn't know what they were doing, but they were getting ready to do it soon.
Just when I thought I was going to make it, I felt it. The sensation of danger that I learned while training against the Hunters at Mayer's home. A jolting sensation down my spine that screamed move! Twenty-five feet above the ground and I threw myself off the tree with all the force I could muster. I felt something drop past me as I hurtled towards the ground.
Recalling the acrobat training from the damn Twins, I splayed my body out like I was mimicking Superman's flight. As I hit the ground, my hands formed a diamond shape as my arms collapsed in. My limbs absorbed the impact as I transitioned into a roll over my good shoulder and balled up. The moment I sensed my feet were under me, stood up and hopped forward for a few feet as I struggled to stop my momentum.
Once I stopped I immediately turned around to see what I avoided. My eyes widened in fear as I noticed all around me were dozens upon dozens of white apes huddled up on branches or hanging off trees. I stared in mute horror as hundreds of red eyes stared back at me, my dry throat nervously swallowing. Pure fear drilled through me like a spear. I cursed myself for following Mayer's advice so literally, and being too inexperienced to know when I was being ambushed.
Then all hell broke loose.
An unholy cacophony broke out as every ape started screaming and smacking the trees they were on. Wide, foaming mouths revealed two rows of vicious, sharp teeth that were not for eating fruits and nuts. I turned my gaze down to the base of the tree I had just lept off.
Standing before me was a large ape that was hunched over, staring at me with murderous intensity. It slowly stood up to full height, allowing me to appreciate its full horror.
It was huge. As tall or taller than me, but far bigger than me with steel-like muscle on whatever skin that wasn't covered in the long, matted white hair. Under all that hair it was easy to tell it had a body that was like a chimpanzee, but with a gorilla's muscularity. It had oversized arms that went past its knees, with disturbingly human-like hands at the ends of them. Except for the black, claw-like nails on ends of each finger.
It had a coal colored face and red eyes that burned with bloody murder, but they were nothing compared to four massive fangs on each row of teeth. Each was as long as my middle finger and as sharp as daggers. Like god combined a baboon's head, a chimpanzee's body, and a gorilla's muscles into some yeti-like abomination. God was an asshole.
I realized that, terrifyingly enough, it had tried to drop right on top of me. If it did, I would have been crushed flat like a Goomba.
The moment we locked eyes I knew I had fucked up. It roared as it pounded its chest hard enough to make me flinch. That was another mistake as the other apes took that as a sign of weakness, and they proceeded to scream even louder. In my infinite wisdom, I held my hands up and tried to speak to the obvious leader, "Alright Caesar, ju-just calm down. I didn't know this was your territory, " I hunched down in my best attempt to look small and non-threatening.
Caesar closed its mouth and scrunched its face as its wide eyes somehow grew even more intense. Red irises becoming pin-pricks against its white, bloodshot orbs. Hot air blew from its nose like steam jets as it tilted its head at the stupid human, aka me. The area grew silent, just like how the dead forest had been before. Sweat dripped down my face as I did my best to continue my heroic tradition of sweating under pressure.
I held my breath as King Caesar, Lord of the White Forest did something that was eerily human. It moved its head as it scanned the surrounding forest, looking at each ape: like some sort of gladiator. Just as I thought human and monkey relations were going to reach all new lows, it began to roar.
It breathed rapidly, frighteningly, screaming and screaming like a hyperventilating demon. Veins started to budge from its head as it bared its fangs. With a terrifying slam of its fists, it smashed the snowy ground in front of it and charged directly at me.
I stared dumbstruck at the animal as it closed the ten-meter distance between us in an instant. My brain turned off at the situation it found itself in. I couldn't believe this was real, I somehow refused to accept the reality of what was happening. So I stood their, frozen, while a giant pissed off ape tried to kill me.
Fortunately, my body did not want to die after enduring fifteen weeks of hell. It reacted from instinct as I jumped to the side, Caesar barreling right past me and into a tree. With a tremendous crash, it smashed the trunk of a tree into splinters. I stared in horror at the giant hole left in the tree, as though wrecking ball had hit it. The only thing keeping the plant standing was its sheer size.
This thing was tough, there was no way I could hurt it.
The ape turned around and snarled. I crouched down in response as I knew it was getting ready to charge again. It confirmed my suspicion as it once again bounded over on all fours with a speed I thought only vehicles could achieve. Right before it collided into me with outstretched claws, I jumped to the side once again.
To my horror and surprise, it predicted my next move and twisted its upper body, swinging its right hand in a swiping motion. It raked me across the chest with its sharp digits, the black fingernails digging into my skin and muscles as easily as a knife through jelly. White, feather-like material exploded from my black parka, visually representing the sharp pain that shot through my body at that moment.
I tried to jump back to make space, but it just turned and shot itself back at me like a missile. Fortunately, my overpowered leg muscles shot me back far enough that the giant monkey's leap fell just short of hitting me. But the moment we both landed it rushed me again, aggressive in a way only a wild animal could.
It slashed and swiped its long arms at me as I barely slipped and ducked out of the way of its attacks. The speed of Caesar's attacks were faster than I was used to, but the long hours of practice (aka taking an ass beating) had done its job. My body slid and dipped away from the ape's large swings, the gusts of air from its attacks picking up snow from the ground and throwing it around.
That gave me an idea. Its attacks were relentless and it fucking refused to back off, constantly in my face screaming and attacking with reckless abandon. There was no way I could hit it. So I waited in the center of its hurricane of attacks, trying to stay calm and failing as its attacks began to get closer and closer to hitting their mark.
There! It overreached with its left and I leaned back and kicked snow into its face with my right leg. Unfortunately, my overpowered leg muscles launched my leg into the sky and threw me off balance. I fell onto my ass as the beast in front of me staggered backwards. Black, monstrous hands wiped at its face as I scrambled to get back to my feet and gain some distance away from the creature. I couldn't win in a fist fight. I needed the breathing room to think and as well as to grab a hold of something.
Taking off at full speed, I sprinted towards an imprint in the snow about thirty meters away. The branch I threw down. It's exactly what I need to beat this creature! The snow barely hindering me as adrenaline blocked the pain in my left shoulder and chest. My arms and legs pumping as hard as they could to get to the weapon.
The troupe of monkeys had other ideas as they started howling and making a commotion. I ignored them as I continued to run.
I shouldn't have.
A rock smashed against the right side of my head, the hood of my parka doing little to protect me as the world turned crooked. Instantly my legs lost all strength as the momentum of my upper body continued forward. For a short moment my vision blacked out, before it came back to show me the ground rapidly coming to greet me.
I fell face-first into the snow with a thud.
It took a second to realize what had happened as my brain rebooted. My whole body refused to work as my mind pleaded with it to get up. Eventually it begrudgingly decided to move as slowly and lethargic as possible. First my head and neck, then my arms and torso. Something warm and wet was smeared across my face. I touched my temple to find that blood was flowing freely from a gash the projectile opened up. Using my arms to push myself up off the ground, I shook my head and looked in the direction that the rock came from.
A group of monkeys on a large branch were jumping up and down, pounding the wood beneath them in victory. One monkey raised its hands above its head as it screamed its achievement to the world. Fuck you monkey.
I fought to get up as the world around shifted and moved as my balance fought against me. My mind was unfocused and hazy. My legs felt weak and wobbly. It took all my will and strength to stand on my feet and move. I feebly stumbled towards the stick only a few meters away, fighting the urge to fall over with each step. The primates continued to make noise and generally act as animalistic as possible, but the sound they made my blood boil.
They were howling with laughter. The fucking monkeys were laughing at me.
I gritted my teeth and tried my best to push down the rage that threatened to explode from me. It'd do me no good to give in to my anger right now. I had to stay calm and stick to the plan.
It was the only way I could win.
At least, I hoped so.
As my legs began to regain their strength, I heard a roar behind me. I knew who it was. And it was pissed. Only a few seconds had passed since I blinded Caesar, but it felt like hours as I struggled to run on unsteady legs. The stick was only a few feet away!
I was right there...
Caesar crashed into me while my focus was entirely on grabbing the stick. He hit me so hard my teeth rattled as I roared in pain through clenched teeth. I was sent sailing into a tree as I smashed into it, splinters exploding from the Elder Weiss as it did little to soften my sudden stop. I don't even remember how I landed, that's how hard I hit that damn tree.
My body moved by itself to get up, instinct and training the only thing keeping me going. I felt a sharp twinge in my left shoulder that cut through the gallon of adrenaline coursing through my veins. It wouldn't move. If my arm wasn't fucked up beyond use, it was now. I could barely see from my right eye and a veil of red covered everything when I could see from it. My chest burned with pain from the claw wounds, blood soaking into my clothes and down my body.
This was the worst I've ever felt, no contest. I was bleeding too much and I could barely prop myself up with my right arm. But I could die later from my wounds, right now I needed to get up or I'd die from raging, palette-swapped Donkey Kong. I honestly rather get shot in the head.
I managed to get up to my knees as a shadow loomed over me. I lifted my head to meet Caesar's red eyes. Its eyes held a sadistic, human glee that had no right to be in the eyes of an animal. Its vicious grin stretched up its elongated snout, somehow turning my blood both boiling in rage and frozen in fear as the two emotions fought for control over what to do. Anger won out.
My right fist shot out directly at the one spot every Johnny Cage player knew was fair game. Knuckles collided with reproductive organs as I did my damn best to uppercut the ape's testicles straight through its mouth. I roared out in triumph as he crouched over in pain, the ape's horrific howls of agony sent my heart alight with joy. My immense satisfaction was cut short when he backhanded me with his left hand. He hit me so hard I saw stars and went soaring backwards.
I somehow survived flying further than any man should have when being launched via vicious head trauma. All I knew was that I landed, everything in-between was a blur of motion and pain. It was like someone cut a piece of my memory out of my head. One moment backhand, next moment in the snow feet away.
I shook my head again for probably the tenth time this fight. My eyes blinked desperately to clear the dancing lights and black dots in my vision, and to regain some of the consciousness Caesar was continuously knocking out of me. I pushed off the ground with my right hand, knuckles swollen from punching the softest part of the ape. My knuckles didn't matter since things were going according to plan. I stared at the stick only a few feet in front of me.
No, actually nothing was going according to plan. I thought Caesar would be stunned long enough for me to make a break for the stick, not launch me almost half a dozen feet. I'm surprised my head wasn't ripped off; but considering the beatings I took from the Twins and Maids, it'd probably take a truck and some buckshot to put me down permanently. It all worked out in the end though, as I staggered forward and grabbed my salvation.
Let's prove criteria two right.
Only one thing was right in my prediction, Caesar was stunned. Well, two predictions: it was a he; if Caesar was, say, a Dixie Kong she would have fucked me up after shaking off the vag punch... Focus, pat yourself on the back later. Caesar was stunned, hobbling around on weak knees as he howled pathetically.
I blinked.
Staring at the ape holding his nuts made me realize how stupid I was.
The snow gorilla was bleeding. I didn't just hurt the beast, I destroyed his ballsack. In all the fear and adrenaline of fighting this creature, I forgot how fucking strong I was. When I fought the Sabertooth Snow Leopard or the Maneater Hog I was strapped with weights. I didn't dare hit the animals with a punch or a kick, mostly because it was pointless. I'd miss. The weights slowed me down too much to hit the creatures, and it was easier to just drop an overweight practice sword over their heads and be done with it. Those hunts were to test my stealth anyway, something I had been fucking up all day today.
I growled in frustration.
In thinking I was too weak or slow to hurt or hit the monkey, I didn't even try to attack it. I assumed I couldn't beat it and my tactics followed that line of thinking. And I had paid the price for it. I was a beaten mess that was barely standing on two feet.
Only now did I find that I had a bad habit and an incorrect mindset, both built upon being substantially handicapped and being surrounded by people far stronger and better than me...
No, not entirely built on my training. I couldn't blame my training. I had it in me for a long time. All my life, really.
The lesson crystallized before me as I understood what this test was really for. What Mayer was trying to achieve through all this. To give me some damn confidence. If I kept thinking I was 'normal' I would die, and die as quickly and brutally as possible. That mindset had led to where I was now. Standing on death's door.
But I wasn't 'normal' anymore. I could never be normal again. No one normal could be a Hunter. No one from back home could ever be a Hunter. James Hartford could never have been a Hunter. In fact, he died more than three months ago. Instead, I stood in his place. Someone, something with only the name James. A thing that didn't even resemble James Hartford. A man who was in a strange world that was straight out of some messed up fairy tale.
I tightened my grip around my improvised weapon. I stared at it with fury. Rage coursed through my veins. My muscles barely strained as I flexed my fingers. The wood in my hands cracked and splintered before snapping it in half under my grip. This wasn't a power fantasy where the hero can just beat up all his problems and ride off into the sunset with the princess and riches. This was a story where a manchild with issues was ripped apart by bunch of monkeys.
The End
And I had written the last page.
No, this wasn't a power fantasy. I had made sure of it. But I had power, so much power and I wasted it in thinking I was still Joe Schmo. Still thinking I couldn't kill something so human. Still thinking I was too weak. Pigs, leopards, rabbits: those were just animals. But this was an ape! It could think and feel like a human, like Koko the Gorilla and all that shit! It would be reprehensible said the voice in the back of my head, the anxiety that plagued me all my life.
Just communicate with it, maybe it'll listen and not hurt you it said. Oh no, it just wants to kill you. Well, you can't hurt it, it's too big and strong. Just dodge, maybe you'll figure out something. Oh wait, you can't dodge forever. Man, aren't you an idiot!
The little voice that told me to kick snow into the monkey's face instead of kicking it in the face. Or taking the rock and beating the stupid monkey's head in, instead of desperately latching on to hope that a flimsy stick would help me. To do everything else instead of fight since I would lose.
That little voice that told me that I'd amount to nothing. The little voice that told me I would fail. To worry. To run away. To hide. To stay as safe and miserable until I died. To never even bother to reach my potential.
The voice that sounded like my piece of shit mother.
"Thanks Mayer. Clauds, Naisa. Hell, even you two little assholes, Kalvin and Clyde. Thanks, everyone, for all the training you gave me. Guess it wasn't enough..." I said in a whisper, the congregation of apes hushing to hear me.
My face curled into a snarl as I looked around me, "Fuck you all. You can't even understand me, but you know what I'm feeling." All the apes around me began to crouch down, sensing danger. They were stupider than I thought. There was no way I could beat them all. Especially as injured as I was now. There was no way to escape either. There were more than a hundred apes here. They'd bleed me dry before even I got close to the edge of Mayer's forest.
I had made so many mistakes bumbling around this forest, I realized that now as I faced death by monkey. But the one that felt worse among all the other mistakes was one that sealed my fate:
I never really believed in myself.
I could have ended the fight the moment he charged at me, I had killed bigger and stronger. I had sparred and trained with better. Instead, I ran like a fool. Like a coward.
I wanted to prove Mayer wrong and live up to his expectations. I wanted to beat the Twins in sparring and rub it in there face. I enjoyed training with the Maids, and I didn't want to let them down as their first students. But I didn't have any faith in myself, only the faith others placed in me. The lukewarm will and confidence that came with being apart of a team and not wanting to let them down.
Not the true confidence and will that came from trusting and believing in one's self.
I guess Pedro was right. I guess the bi-, I guess Zhulong was right. I didn't have confidence in myself...
Strange. I was beaten up and bleeding. In the worst shape of my life and staring at my second death. Yet, all I could feel was a sense of peace.
That and nigh-unending rage.
I bent down and picked up the stick I just crushed in two. I picked up the longer piece and waved it around with my right hand. It was too light. With my full strength I could snap it by waving it too fast like it was a twig. Even if I had hit the stupid ape with this thing, it'd have snapped in two anyways. What a joke. This was what I was struggling for this whole time?
A flimsy stick?
The pack of primates must have sensed the change that came over me as they screamed at Caesar, I guess in a vain attempt to motivate him. Too bad he was trying to hold in what was left of his nuts. Not a trace of sympathy was in me for that bastard.
I slowly walked towards Caesar. He didn't look as vicious to me as he did before. Nothing really changed other than one hit. He was still as big as fridge, still had bloody claws and sharp teeth. Weird.
He looked far less confident, his eyes scrunched up in pain and fear. The vicious roars and smug smiles were gone from him, "What's wrong, King Kong? I'm still hurt. I have one arm, " I waved my right arm mockingly, "Not so big now, huh? You think I was an easy mark, huh? And you were right, but you all fuckers should have killed me when you had the chance! But now, things have changed," His eyes conveyed that, somehow, he understood what I was saying.
I lifted the tip of my weapon at the beast and roared, "If I'm going to fucking die, I'm going to take as many as you fuckers as I can with me! Starting with you!"
It snarled right back at me, "O-o. Ooo."
"Oou-"
"OUR! MOUNTAIN!"
He charged at me, his sudden intelligence barely registering as I calmly studied the ape. I didn't care if he was a magical beast or regular beast, it was my opponent. It was going to die. So I needed to strike when it was open. That meant I had to pay attention to the world around me, but I found my world had changed.
Everything was so slow now, even Caesar looked like he was moving in molasses. I could see the explosion of snow it kicked up frozen in the air. All its monkey allies moving around cheering on their ape comrade, moving as though someone hit half speed on the movie I was watching. I thought I was calm before, but this was true calmness. A calmness without fear. A clarity that only came with a detached mind.
A sharpness born from life or death.
I sighed. I really wish I had this epiphany when I wasn't about to die. But we don't get what we want life, huh?
Heh, not even in two lives.
Just as it was about to reach me with its claws and tear my head apart, I struck. I stepped forward and trusted the tip of the stick forward with my right arm, just as I was taught by Mayer.
Right into its left fucking eye socket.
I let go of my weapon as it reared back in pain and tried to backhand me again. Not a second time. I ducked under it with the speed gained from dodged Naisa's and Clauds rubber bullets and hit it with a body punch right on the ribs. Something snapped inside of it and bone gave way as my arm sank deeper than I thought possible. I could feel the dull sensation of pain in my knuckles, but it was nothing compared to what Caesar must have felt.
He folded in on himself, leaning forward and gagging from the pain. I didn't pause to study my work as I followed it up with an uppercut that would have made Kalvin and Clyde proud. Bone and flesh gave way again as I turned Caesar's baboon snout at an angle nature had not intended it to go: ninety degrees up. I noticed in cold and clinical fashion that its sharp fangs were no longer attached to his jaws.
The pathetic thing's shoulders slumped in as it wobbled in place, before slowly falling backward. Almost like a cartoon.
For the first time in this entire fight, I was the one standing over my downed opponent.
And it felt good.
I walked next Caesar's prone body as he used what little of his senses that remained to whimper and drag himself away from me. What remained of his good eye held fear and repentance. Its pleading look hit heartstrings that were torn out when he slashed my chest with his claws. What little mercy I had disappeared when it and its friends toyed and played with me.
"Our. Mountain," I said in a cold, mocking tone as I stomped on its left arm. Hard. Something snapped in his arm as it cried out in pain. It feebly tried to wave me away with its good arm, head bowed low as it retreated backwards from me through the snow like the pathetic thing it was. I found great satisfaction in this.
I am a petty and spiteful man, I do not deny it. May it be written on my gravestone.
My fist clenched up as I raised it in the air like a great maul, knuckles popping from the sheer strength I put in my grip. I loomed over Caesar, pinning him down with my left foot as I prepared to punch a hole in his head.
"P-please. No. Kill..." I stared coldly at the ape. My arm lingering in the air as realized that the forest was quiet again...
Why was I hesitating?
I raised my fist up again, but it felt like something was holding me back. Like an enormous weight that sat on my hand that kept getting heavier. Rage reared its ugly head again as it exploded through my mind, melting the cold, detached mindset I was in. Once again I raised my hand, my teeth clenched with anger as I fought to take over my rebellious body.
Once again I flinched.
I yelled in rage as I stepped back and found a tree and began pounding it with fury. My vision was red as bark exploded with each hit, my fists ripping holes into the tree like it were drywall.
"Fuck! FUCK!", I roared out as I pulled my arm free from the final hole I created in the plant. Fury possessed, I whipped back to the animal that begged for mercy, "You attack me! You beat the shit out of me! You toy and play with me! You don't even fight fair," I pointed the gash on the right side of my face, "I was minding my own business, but you attacked me and tried to kill me! Why the hell do you deserve to live when you showed me no such option!" I snarled as animalistic as the primates around me.
Caesar looked to the floor in shame, not even trying to look me in the eye, "No. N-no want. Die. Live. Me. Live. Please"
He turned its head up at me and stared me in the eyes, "Sorry."
Tears streamed down my face at the pathetic thing in front of me. I fought to control the grief coming out, but I couldn't. I wanted it dead. I wanted it dead so bad I could taste it. For everything it put me though, it deserved it. It was a monster. I was going to die anyways, why the fuck not!
But I couldn't.
I cried at the person in front of me. He just wanted to live like me. When it was just a monster it was all too easy. Big bad thing, kill it. It deserved death.
My hand passed along my face as I tried to wipe the tears that refused to stop flowing. I walked over to Caesar and looked down at him. I gave him my hand, "Why? Why did you try to kill me?" I said stupidly.
"Me. No. Wanted. To-"
A pair of enormous feet landed on its head, crushing its head into bloody chunks.
I stared dumbly at Caesar's face. Hey.
Hey.
Wait. You can't.
I just-
The sound of two more pairs of feet landing behind me woke me out of my trance. All the monkeys around me roared and screamed at the new guests.
In a haze, my head turned up as my lost eyes shifted to see who it was.
It was a massive ape. Bigger and meaner than Caesar ever was.
"Weak." That was the last thing I heard.
The last thing I saw was its fist smashing into my face as everything faded to black and red.
No wait, I remember seeing snowflakes...
The last thing I thought was how much it sucked to fail on the first day of my last test...
Mayer raised his head up from the book he just finished reading. He peered up through the window of his office. The Elder Domo could have sworn he heard something in the distance. As he gazed through the glass he saw that light clouds drifting by. Experience told him it would snow soon, though no one would have believed him he.
You could already see snowflakes falling. If you knew where to look.
He sighed and closed his book. Mayer didn't know when he grew so attached to the boy. Maybe it was when he saw the embers of potential begin to light during his first day of running. Or when he began to take charge of his training, asking for the Maids to assist him. It could have been when he took to swordsmanship like a fish in water. That was something that reminded Mayer of his last appearance...
Apprentice, huh...
Mayer Domo never intended to take another apprentice. A true apprentice, not his children or the tutoring he gave Evira's brood. A person he decided to mentor and teach his decades of knowledge to. The idea had never even crossed his mind once in four years. He thought this whole thing a ridiculous joke and James a foolish child in a man's body. He had stopped calling him boy to his face out of respect for his spirit, but that is what he saw. A boy.
That was changing though.
"Heh. Not even a man's body when I first saw him. More of animated scarecrow than a human," He barked a short laugh at the image of the around sixty-two kilos 'man'. Now he was a strapping lad, just how all men should be!
Pride and joy in equal measures lifted Mayer's heart. James was shy and a smart-ass. Two things Mayer hated in a person. The boy barely spoke when you first meet him, even when forced to. Then, when he gets comfortable around you, you could not get him to shut up! Worse, he thought he was funnier than he actually was! He lacked confidence when he needed it and held it when he didn't! He also had a volatile anger that the boy could barely control! The boy was weak in body and weak in mind! It was all the things Mayer hated in a person.
God...Mayer felt like a cranky old man. An old man that did his best to deny the fact he actually liked the boy. God, he was getting soft. Is this what Netero complained about all the time?
He looked at the cover of the book. The Shingen-ryu School of Kung Fu: Theory and Fundamentals. The man tossed it on his desk with a thump. If old man Netero knew he had another apprentice... Mayer knew he would receive a call from the old fart jeering him. He could hear it now:
"I heard you have a new apprentice! I thought bears were fierce, solitary creatures! But it seems as though 'Mayer the Bear' is turning into 'Mayer the Teddy Bear'! Or maybe 'Mayer the Mama Bear!' Hahaha!..."
Mayer crossed his arms and scrunched up his face in a frown as he sat in his chair like a petulant child, "I never should have told the geezer I would not take another apprentice. Grrrr..."
The mammoth man got over his annoyance and sighed, "I cannot deny that he is a hard worker and spirited..." Referring to the person who he had knocked out and left in the White Death a few hours ago. For all of Mayer's stoicism and overwrought masculinity, he had a kind heart. One that had been tainted by the world. But finally, for the first time in a long time...
He dared to hope.
He stood up from his massive wooden chair and stared out at the slowly trickling snow. On these mountains, it always came when you least expected it. In some cultures, white was the color of death. Mayer liked to believe it was the color of new beginnings. Indeed, one could say white signified a clean slate.
It was December after all. It was the death of a old year and the birth of a new one.
"Hmph. The boy may not be the most talented person I have taught, but he has done everything I have asked of him without hesitation. He has potential." Mayer rubbed the window as it began to fog up.
"It is decided then. I shall ask him to be my apprentice."
And for the first time in years, Mayer smiled with optimism. He felt embarrassed to think of it, but he was excited to have a new apprentice. To finally look towards the future with some hope instead of total despair.
To finally have something to live for.
Author's Notes:
Wooo boy. That was...that was a tough one to write. Hunter X Hunter is a tough world, not everyone gets to live to be a hunter. Some only get to hunt for it, to see a glimpse of the dream.
That's why its simply Hunter Hunter
That's the end for James Hartford.
Again, thank you, everyone, for reading my story. All of you who started from the very beginning, I appreciate it immensely. You don't know what it means to me have someone read your story; love it, hate it, whatever. It makes me super happy. So again as a new fanfic writer, thank you again.
I also went back and to the previous chapters and fixed any mistakes or inconsistencies. So if you don't mind spending a few minutes to write a review about this story, even if you hate it, I'd love to read it. Every little bit helps me become a better writer.
As always, I hope everything is going well for you and hope it continues to go well!
Until next time dear readers!
