Chapter 32: Preparations for the Hunt
In the week that passed, the village of Rim Elm had greatly changed.
The first thing that occurred in that week was that Val was able to show signs of Spirit. This caused tremendous joy for Vahn and Nene.
Vahn’s new direction on his training proved effective. He could not fully control and create a single punch. In the hundreds of punches that he made within that week, only about 5 percent of his total punches failed to contain Spirit.
Vahn’s proficiency and because of Dyne’s urging allowed him to be the youngest Hunter to be allowed to join the Hunt.
The hunters also improved in many ways. Some of the Hunters were getting stronger and stronger in their resistance to the Mist. Juno was the next to have shown resilience in resisting the effects of the Mist. He was able to take in a large amount of Mist and could sustain several breaths of Mist. The Hunters never actively inhaled the Mist and would do their best to not breathe when it would be around. But this time, they were taking a full breath of it.
As for the other Hunters, they were constantly training on how to resist the Mist.
Ipkus was the next among the Hunters to show resistance. He was able to handle several deep breaths.
A startling change happened in the village of Rim Elm. The whole village has seen a strange form of kindness that now appeared. It was then that they realized that they were still heavily affected by the Mist. But now, almost everybody would spend their days near the Genesis Tree.
Hunters would take time to meditate under it. The elderly and the children spent most of their time there. And with the strengthened Genesis Tree, Rim Elm transformed to have a kinder and gentler environment. Even Ixis had appeared to be more well-behaved but would always avoid the Genesis tree on the nights that Dyne would be tied there.
On the last night of that week, a meeting was held near the Genesis Tree. This had become a place where almost every discussion was made. Realizing how the Mist had affected them, important matters and meetings were now made under the Tree.
Some of the shy youths were even spotted making confessions under the Genesis Tree.
“What? You want to move alone?”
“Right.” Dyne nodded.
“It would be best if me, Bertugo, and the Slime will journey together,” Dyne explained.
“But that’s... That’s too dangerous!” Ipkus was stunned. Throughout the week, Ipkus no longer showed a state of hostility towards Dyne. After seeing how Dyne trained, his reactions turned softer.
Dyne noticed it and began to treat Ipkus differently. He believed that the change in his personality could also be attributed to the environment around them.
“What are your plans?” Val didn’t react and listened first.
“Alright. The truth is, I think I can move faster with just the three of us.” Dyne revealed two items.
“My father gave these to me, and these two have a strange ability.” Dyne had long pondered where these accessories derived their powers from.
“Oh? You have these Monster Crafted artifacts?” Elder Mura’s eyes brightened.
“Monster artifacts?” Dyne was secretly surprised by these terms.
“It seems, young master Dyne, is unaware of the origins of these items.” Elder was surprised.
“I never asked my Dad. I thought that these were from Serus.”
“No. You must have known that the Seru’s body part would scatter or disappear if removed from their body.”
Dyne pretended to know as he quickly deduced the answers himself.
“Right. Serus is soul monsters, and so, if their body parts are removed, it would scatter. Only by recovering their souls will their bodies recover.”
“Correct. As for these items, we craft them from the monsters that we kill. Our village only can create a few weapons from the Gobu Gobu that we kill. We use the hide in the shields that they have to create armors like the Hunter Clothes that we have. The blades of the Gobu Gobu are then used to make our knives and other weapons. But of course, most of our weapons come from the lifeblood of these monsters which can be refined into weapons.”
Dyne was surprised. He had always wondered what weapons or steels they used that could attack and harm the Serus. It turned out it was from the body parts of monsters. The more Dyne thought about it, the more it made sense.
“Back before the Mist came, the Drake Kingdom would often hunt and attack the monster dens near here. They could even dare to attack those monsters who are much like Bertugo. Those who have evolved and have unique abilities. Those two ought to be powerful monster crafted artifacts refined from powerful monsters. But I can’t tell what monsters were used to create these things.” Elder Mura laughed.
“It’s fine. This is the Golden Compass. And this is the Chicken King.” Dyne showed the items.
“As you know, these items have the ability to spread their power to three individuals. The Golden Compass allows me to approach an enemy without being detected. While the Chicken King has the ability to allow me to run away from an enemy.”
“Quite an interesting pair of accessories.” Val was amazed at the items.
While players would laugh at the rather useless items and would only consider these things as “quality of life” accessories that help them move around in the game, for Dyne, who would be living in it, knew that these items would be extremely helpful. Seeing at the startled expressions of the Hunters, Dyne knew that he was right.
“Right. One is to help me ambush an enemy, while the other ensures that I can escape from my enemies. I think it’s sort of some Spirit related equipment as for the Chicken King. I’d need to really want to escape for it to work. But then again... If I encounter a being with a greater soul, I would probably be unable to run away from them.” Dyne explained.
“I see. So it would be better if you hunted alone since these items can help you fight and kill.”
“Yes. I want to explore the mountains north and look for the different Gobu Gobu tribes. We don’t know if the Mist has robbed the sanity of these monsters. Maybe some monsters are susceptible to the control of the Mist. At least, that what I'm guessing.” Dyne sighed.
Juno nodded.
“That’s true. We've seen one particular tribe of aggressive Gobu Gobu. The ones that often attack Rim Elm.”
“Ok. My purpose in this trip is to make the Green Slime absorb more enemies so that it could divide more. I also plan on having Bertugo tame more Slimes. I believe if we maximize the Green Slime and create many more of this, it would make it easier for the village.”
“Alright. We will handle the hunts of wild animals, while you will scout the area.”
“Great! Now, I’ll have Slimey here divide. I’ll bring one part of him, and I'll command the other part to go with you. That way, Uncle Val can sit on it and be carried.” Dyne smiled.
Everyone was surprised. Even Val was stunned by Dyne’s suggestion.
“The Slime?”
“Yes! It's strong enough to carry two Gobu Gobu. I’m sure Uncle Val won’t be an issue. With him in your party, you should be able to sense the movements of the Mist easier! Do we have any chairs? We can make Uncle Val sit on the chair and have the Slime carry him!” Dyne smiled.
“Slimey! Divide!” Dyne called to the Slime, who immediately went to the process of Division. At Dyne’s direction, the hunters immediately brought a chair to which they placed Val on. Juno was so excited.
“Go. Uncle Val. Try to see if you can sit. Slimey Number 2, be sure to hold Uncle Val properly!”
The Slime moved under Val and started to bet in between Uncle Val.
Soon, he managed to carry Val and the chair.
Everyone was amazed.
“Amazing!” Elder Mura praised.
“Alright. Movement test! Slimey! Move out!” Following the order, the Slime moved out of the Genesis Tree and raced upwards, braving the descending landscape, which led to the Genesis Tree Garden.
The movement of the Slime shocked everyone. Though they knew these creatures could run with a speed that was just a little slower than a running human, they knew it was still fast. What they didn’t know was that this Slime was at a higher level compared to the Slimes they would see outside.
“It’s that fast!” Juno was excited! Even Ipkus was delighted.
The Slime returned, and it immediately detached from Val.
Val was laughing.
“I guess I need something to tie me up! The Slime was moving too fast!” he was partially scared but very excited. With a movement speed like that, he knew he wouldn’t be a burden.
Dyne laughed and thought about it.
“I guess we should make seatbelts for Uncle Val.”
“Seatbelts? What are those?”
Dyne laughed and began to explain it, and after a few words of explanation, some of the hunters immediately urged Val to sit once more as they experimented on the designs of the seat belts.
The people were laughing and having a good time as they tried various means to make Val move.
Dyne was in deep thought, but he could see a strange fluctuation in their souls in his eyes.
“Hmm? It’s increasing faith?” Dyne was surprised.
“Joy and laughter... I guess receiving good times is a way to increase the village's faith... I should consider how to make this village happier to awaken Meta. If their faith increases, then Meta’s awakening will be quicker.” Dyne could sense a fluctuation on from the Tree as the Ra-Seru Egg greedily absorbed the growing faith energy.
Elder Mura turned to Dyne.
“Are you sure that the two of you would be alright?”
“Don’t worry! I have Gomboo with me. Don't forget. He has been in the Mist for a decade! No one can stop us now!”
“Alright. But be sure to get back after. Don’t spend too long outside!” Elder Mura warned.
Dyne nodded and smiled. What his smile meant, no one knew.