“I can’t believe we killed it! I’m still thrilled.”
It was a small party of hunters with a total of twenty men.
“It’s all because of you, Riselle.”
“Yeah, it’s because of you.”
All the men turned to a man in his forties who glanced around, a bit far from the bonfire.
‘This is really cold.’
He knew people were looking at him, but he paid no attention. This expedition was a big chance for someone like them. The news of Khalodian going on a large scale monster hunt expedition spread through the all parts of the land and mercenaries and merchants alike gathered as quickly as possible. Some feared going into the infamous mountain range, but their greed did not stop them from signing up. Thousands of people signed up for the expedition and the economy began to flourish. All roads on the way to Khalodian were bustling with people and others were also busy selling food and shelter to those people going on the expedition.
Riselle was one of the people who had come to join the expedition. He was a retired mercenary who resided in a small village, living a peaceful life. But when villagers learned about the expedition, they asked Riselle to lead them.
‘I must keep these people safe. I must not risk more profit in exchange for danger. Everyone needs to return safely…’
“Hey Riselle! Let us stand guard and come by the fire!”
“Yeah! You must rest!”
Two young men named the Orman brothers shouted from the distance as they walked toward him. They were both very tall men, both over 6’8″ tall. They walked over to Riselle with huge axes on their backs. They seemed to be excited at today’s giant grizzly bear hunt where both of them would be playing an important role.
‘Confidence is good but if it’s excessive…’
Riselle thought for a moment but shook his head. He didn’t want to make them lose energy because of his concerns. The village was new, but with the help of the lord, it was now quickly becoming stable.
“I think we get what this place is about.”
“Did you see? How I smacked my axe at that animal? Haha!”
“MONSTERS!”
“Huh?”
“What?”
Riselle shouted suddenly as the two brothers talked to him about today’s hunt. They seemed to be confused by Riselle’s sudden action.
‘Too slow!’
“MONSTERS!”
A loud whistle filled the area with the shout of people coming from all sides. Two brothers realized what was going on and glanced around.
‘It’s a Kerox!’
A Kerox had appeared from the darkness. The Kerox was a quick and tenacious monster with the shape of a giant wolf; the monster was over six feet tall and ten feet long. It was a gray Kerox that survived through the harsh conditions after the volcanic eruption of the Khalodian Mountains. A Kerox pounced toward Riselle and it was shot by Riselle’s crossbow, later writhing in agony. The snow was kicked up instantly as its seven-foot-long body had been thrown down to the ground.
“UGH!”
Two brothers gasped in shock. They were disoriented. More shadows began appearing through the darkness as they cried desperately. Riselle felt his skin stinging and his hair rising from fear. His blood seemed to go cold and he could not think. But his experience as a mercenary made him move instinctively.
“Calm down! Put up your axe and strike the monster in front of you! You just do that!”
“Ye-yeah!”
“Okay!”
Riselle ordered with a loud voice to the people around him as he picked up a spear and threw it at the Kerox. People began frantically searching for their weapons as they prepared to fight against the monsters.
“It’s coming this way! Check the traps!”
“They’re avoiding the traps!”
The Keroxes were also very smart. They were able to sniff out any unusual smelling traps and attacked the humans.
“Be careful!”
“Argh!”
“Berrac!”
One of the Keroxes jumped up from nowhere and attacked Berrac’s head. Some screamed in shock as the man fell down to the ground with a Kerox biting his head. He screamed frantically as he tried to fight the monster on his head, but it made the monster crush down its jaw more powerfully.
“SAVE HIM!”
“Berrac’s still alive! Kill it!”
Riselle ran toward the Kerox with a handaxe.
“Drop Berrac! You bastard!”
“ARGH!!”
The Kerox shook its head as it became agitated by the spear thrusts from the others around it. At that moment, Riselle leaped up behind the Kerox and smashed his axe into Kerox’s back and waist. The Kerox screamed and jumped up, letting Berrac go from its jaw. Riselle, who jumped onto Kerox’s back, had flown off onto the snow field.
“He’s free!”
“Save Berrac and Riselle!”
Men gathered up and set up a defense with spears as the injured Kerox let out an angry growl.
“FIRE!”
But as the humans readied themselves, it was their time to fight back. Tens of arrows were fired from crossbows and the Kerox writhed in pain as it fell down. Its pack began to feel fear the humans.
At that moment, a Kerox that was backing off screamed in pain as it was skewed by a huge spear from the side. It was a spear from Riselle. He was holding a claw-like weapon in his hand.
“Wow. He’s the real deal.”
Jinpok pointed to a side and Joonbum turned. Jinpok was pointing at a well-built man in his forties fighting against a Kerox.
“He knows how to fight.”
“Yeah, I can see that.”
“But he looks bit old.”
