Chapter 2: ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ (๐)
Chapter 2: ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ (๐)
It was a simple but true statement. Going to a place where formidable beasts appear was not for hunters, but for mercenaries or knights.
Even in this world where aura and inner strength were scarce and magic was rare, there were monsters.
The particularly strong beasts that were difficult for humans to deal with were precisely these monsters.
When such monsters appeared, people called for mercenaries or knights. It was curious how they could deal with creatures several times stronger than ordinary beasts without guns, but from the stories passed down, it seemed possible to confront them.
โWell, there must be a way.โ
In the past, when there were no guns, people would have hunted beasts with just spears. The people here were no different.
โLetโs go.โ
โYes, Iโll take the lead.โ
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
Joseph was one of the few people in the village who had permission to enter the forest. While others would be severely punished if caught, Joseph was allowed to hunt there.
Joseph was responsible for managing the forest to keep others out, guide Sir Gessen if he wanted to hunt in the forest, and serve as a soldier in case of war.
Of course, Joseph had no intention of fulfilling the last duty. If a war broke out, he planned to pack his belongings and flee. He had run away to this place and had no intention of becoming a human shield for the nobles.
โ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ข ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ถ๐ญ๐ช๐ข๐ณ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ.โ
Joseph thought about Johan, who was following him through the forest. This was not the first time he had hunted with Johan.
โ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ? ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐จ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ.
โ๐โ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ, ๐๐จ๐ก๐๐ง-๐ง๐ข๐ฆ.
When Joseph first met Johan, he bowed his head and bit his tongue. Sir Gessen had so many sons that there were more than a few who came to him to be hunting attendants.
Of course, he couldnโt accommodate all such requests. Strictly speaking, only Sir Gessen had the right to make such a request. The other sons did not have that right.
Fortunately, Joseph had an excuse.
โ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐จ ๐จ๐ง ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ซ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ, ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฆ๐จ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ข๐๐ซ๐ฌ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ. . .
A nobleโs hunt was different from a hunter carrying a single bow into the hunt.
The nobleโs attendants followed, and soldiers followed to guard those attendants. It was more like a hunt where beaters drove the animals towards them than a traditional hunt where they searched for animals.
Naturally, it cost a fortune. Even the nobles couldnโt do it casually. Especially not the not-so-wealthy Aitz family. Moreover, the sons of the Aitz family did not have the authority to make such decisions.
Joseph thought Johan would complain and back off. He was prepared for insults or spitting.
โ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฑ.โ
But the answer that came back was unexpected.
โ๐๐จ, ๐โ๐ฆ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ข๐๐ซ๐ฌ. ๐โ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ. ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐จ ๐จ๐ง ๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ.
โ. . .?!
Joseph was taken aback. And he was disgusted.
โWhat nonsense. . .โ
Wanting to go on a hunterโs hunt. It was clear that a nobleโs child would get bored in a few hours. And if he acted rashly and got hurt. . .
But he couldnโt refuse. If he refused here, even the good-natured Johan would surely get angry.
โ๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ. ๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ. ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ๐ญ, ๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ.
โ๐-๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ?
Joseph, who had his inner thoughts exposed, blushed. It was a mistake to think that Johan was easy to deal with because he was young. Johan was smarter than he thought.
In the end, Joseph went hunting with Johan, albeit reluctantly. And it didnโt take long for him to have to admit it.
Johan wasnโt lying.
Johan was surprisingly patient for a noble. He followed the insignificant hunterโs instructions without complaining, waited when told to wait, and didnโt complain about camping in the cold night dew.
Thanks to that, the initial worry had long disappeared. Instead, curiosity arose when the worry disappeared. ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฌ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ?
Knights would scoff at it, but the skills of a hunter were not easy to learn. Moreover, Josephโs skills were even more so.
The method of tracking the traces of animals, the method of walking quickly in the forest without making a sound, the method of setting traps according to the animals, the method of camping avoiding beasts and bugs. . .
When a war broke out, it was not for nothing that hunters were used as scouts.
However, no matter how much he thought about it, it was not a skill that nobles should learn.
โJoseph. What are you doing?โ
โAh. . . Yes! Iโm sorry.โ
Joseph was startled and shook his head. It was a mistake that should not be made, even if it was the beginning of the forest, to think about other things.
โIs this a footprint?โ
โYes. You found it correctly. Itโs really a noblemanโs excellent skill. Itโs not something anyone can find. Originally, itโs not easy to find footprints when the weather is like this, but you found it, itโs definitely Johan-nim. It must be that God recognizes you and helps you.โ
โ. . .I see.โ
Johan nodded with a twitching face. Such a flattering compliment.
โ๐๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐จ๐ถ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต?โ
But Joseph couldnโt help it. There were many nobles who got angry if they didnโt do so.
โCan I set a trap right away?โ
โNo, Johan-nim.โ
Find the footprints of the beast, and set a trap on the path where those footprints lead. This was the first method Joseph taught.
โWhy?โ
โLook closely. The footprints of the usual blue dot deer are dug deeper. Itโs definitely a pregnant female. Females, especially pregnant blue dot deer, are more sensitive than usual. If you set a trap recklessly, you may not be able to catch it.โ
Johan nodded his head. To Johan, who had lived in the city all his life, every teaching of Joseph was touching.
โThen what should I do?โ
โYou have to avoid its sense of smell, so youโll use this herb powder. The combination is. . .โ
โRed cake grass with Akinen tree and small devil grass. Right?โ
โ. . .Yes. You remember well.โ
Experienced and cunning hunters also knew the knowledge of herbalists. A hunter who can make various medicines by combining common herbs was respected in the village.
And Joseph was a hunter among hunters.
โIf you sprinkle this herb powder, it will be confused because its sense of smell is paralyzed. No matter how sensitive it is, it wonโt notice the trap. Now you can install it.โ
Johanโs skill, who had done it several times, was familiar. He skillfully carved a tree and hung a spear, and put a resilient rope. The moment you touch it, the spear will fly and pierce the body of the deer.
โYou did well. Now letโs install a few more.โ
There was no hunter who set only one trap. And Joseph didnโt usually aim for deer. If you catch a lot of animals like deer, you could be caught by the feudal lord.
What Joseph usually caught was rabbits or badgers, foxes or birds. He could catch wolves if he wanted to, but he usually didnโt. Unless it appears in the village and attacks people, there is no need to do so.
โJoseph.โ
โYes?โ
โWhatโs that wolf?โ
โ. . .?!โ
Joseph turned his head in surprise. Far away, a black wolf was staring at him through the dense trees.
โ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต?!โ
This was not an area where wolves appeared. To see the territory of the wolves in the forest, he had to go further for about a day. Moreover, there were no signs of a wolf appearing. Footprints, feces, characteristic claw marks. . .
โ๐๐ตโ๐ด ๐ข ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐บ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ง!โ
Joseph realized that the wolf was not the one he usually saw in the forest. Its fur was so glossy black and its size seemed to be twice as big as other wolves.
โ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ. . . ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ. . .!โ
Among the beasts, those who were born with great strength and continued to fight and survive were unusually large. These beasts behaved and moved differently from ordinary beasts. Even savvy hunters didnโt want to deal with these exceptional beasts, monsters.
โJohan-nim. You must never act rashly!โ
โI know.โ
Johan didnโt show it, but he knew how dangerous the situation was. Seeing Joseph like this, he realized that the wolf was an unexpected enemy.
Moreover, the oppressive atmosphere it exuded was no joke. Even Johan, who had never seen a monster, thought, โIs that a monster?โ
โ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ด๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ. . .โ
As the son of a knight, Johan had received a longsword. It was a bit old and unimpressive, but it was considered a proper weapon in this village.
The problem was that Johan didnโt know how to use a sword!
He felt more confident fighting with his bare hands than with a sword.
โSlowly. . . donโt provoke it and back off.โ
With that, Joseph put a pouch filled with powder that beasts hate between his fingers. Then he picked up his bow and strung an arrow.
โ๐๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ. . .โ
He was confident in his archery skills, but he wasnโt confident against it. Joseph prayed that it wouldnโt follow him.
โ!โ
The wolf suddenly turned around and disappeared into the dark forest. Joseph let out a sigh of relief.
โLetโs run away quickly!โ
๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ
Emerging from the forest, Joseph panted and said,
โIt looks like a monster no matter how you look at it. I should tell everyone not to go near the forest for a while. Just my luck to see a black wolf. . .โ
Among the hunters, the black wolf was a bad omen. Johan thought as he saw this.
โ๐ ๐จ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏโ๐ต ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ.โ
Joseph was a good teacher. He answered everything Johan asked, perhaps because of the difference in status. He wouldnโt have bothered if the other boys in the village had asked.
But he couldnโt force a frightened Joseph to go to the forest. It would be dangerous for Johan too.
โI understand. Youโve worked hard too.โ
โNo, itโs not. Itโs amazing that you, Johan-nim, are not flustered.โ
โYeah. Yeah. I understand, so rest well, and letโs talk again when the wolf is gone.โ
Johan sent Joseph away and sat down on the desolate hill in front of the village. For a while, he had to stay still and train near the village.
๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ โ
โ?!โ
Johan was startled. There was a guest under the tree where he usually sat alone.
โ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต? ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐จ๐จ๐ข๐ณ?โ
It didnโt look like a person from the village at a glance. Judging by the shabby luggage thrown next to him and the thick, worn-out coat he was wearing while sleeping, he was clearly a wanderer.
Even the serfs of the village couldnโt treat Johan casually, and if he was a wanderer, he could kick him out. But Johan didnโt do that.
โ๐๐ตโ๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ.โ
Johan moved his steps and moved to another tree. And he started exercising. His muscles tightened and made a creaking sound from the tree.
โYouโre doing something interesting. Are you the son of Sir Gessen?โ
โ?โ
Johan stopped exercising and turned his head. The old wanderer had already gotten up and was looking this way.