Chapter 9: Hounds of Hell (2)
In the Baskevilles, practical tests are frequent, several times a day.
Most of the brothers fight each other to determine superiority in strength, but most of the start of the fight is announced with this species.
Ding-
The young hounds of the Baskevilles, who were nervous in the unfamiliar environment, immediately came to their senses at the sound of a familiar bell.
And as it has been learned in the meantime, it was an instinct.
A young Baskeville from the nine-year-old class quickly ran across the wasteland.
He was the guy who benefited quite a bit last year by occupying the advantageous terrain first.
But he was intelligent enough to remember last year's points, but he was not intelligent enough to keep his eyes on him.
The quick-witted 8-year-olds chased after him.
They didn't know what it was?, but they planed to stop him from doing what he wanted.
Smarter kids pretended that they knew something.
And lure others into dangerous pits or swamps and get rid of annoying flying flies all at once.
The triplets, Hivero, Mivero, and Lovero, were such cunning guys.
"Go there."
"Don't tell me what to do."
"I teling you because you can't do shit on your own."
9-year-olds who are already showing their prominence. By the way, these guys used a similar methods last year to eliminate a lot of upperclassmen.
Within hours of the bell ringing, dropouts began to appear one after another.
From shock and fainting, from rolling down a steep slope, or from falling into a swamp, from being stabbed or cut.
The reasons were varied, but the root cause was one.
It was at the hands of other brothers.
... kang!
You can also hear the sound of metal pieces colliding with each other throughout the forest.
As soon as the competition began, the children of the Baskevilles were fighting each other with Blunt swords were given to them.
A dull knife so that it cannot be used to kill.
Killing opponents is not encouraged in this tournament.
It is not prohibited, but it stops at a level that is not recommended.
If you kill someone, points are deducted... ... This score range was quite large, so the children did their best not to kill the other person 'by hand' if possible.
Of course, it doesn't matter if your skills are good enough to take a deduction and you have accumulated enough points, or if you can kill your opponent secretly enough to be unnoticed by the leader dogs.
Well, even though the guardian knights who act as guide dogs keep their eyes open 24 hours a day, mysterious deaths and accidental deaths occur frequently during the practical evaluation, so this opportunity may be used to eliminate a rival or a guy you hated.
... but.
There was no Vikir in this fierce competition.
Vikir acted like he had no interest in scoring from the start.
All he did was, as soon as the bell struck, to move swiftly out of the reservation and settle down in the wasteland outside the boundary bordering the bodering Zone.
'... Was it here?'
Vikir was reminiscing about his days as a student before returning and his days as an instructor.
If you go straight this way, there is a wasteland that is narrowly inside the border area.
There, an old dead tree stood tall, but the roots that extend deep into the ground were soft and rotten, so the whole ground is soft.
Before long, Vikir found the land he was aiming for.
Unlike other places, the soil there is exceptionally reddish.
Vikir broke a branch and began digging and poking the ground.
While the other brothers fought in the distance, winning and losing points, Vikir silently dug the ground.
The guide dog guardians kept observing Vikir while hiding in a secret place.
However, even after several days, Vikir continued to be seen digging a pit.
'Looks like he's just hiding there to kill time.'
'It's a little disappointing?'
'There's no need to keep watching.'
Since he was a Vikir who had been prominent since his childhood, the Guardian Knights had high hopes for him, but this was quite disappointing.
Digging and hiding in pits was typical behavior of cowards, low-ranking and insignificant children.
In the end, the Guardian Knights who couldn't keep an eye on him began to take their eyes off Vikir one by one.
... but.
One still didn't pay attention to the fights between the children.
Just how deep the 8-year-old Vikir digs the pit and what he does in it.
* * *
"This place is still like a cradle."
Vikir.
He was sitting at the bottom of the pit and having a good time.
Le Rogue Mountain, was such a comfortable and cozy place for him.
Outside, the Guardian Knights stood guard instead, and competitors did not come to check on him.
When he was thirsty, he would collect dew that formed overnight on a large leaf hanging in the pit, and if he was hungry, he would catch a passing snake or mole and roast it.
Rather, they were much better than the food that comes out as a school lunch.
Even the bed that he made myself was better.
The beds for kids were made of monster skins or thorns, so they were very hard and rough.
But here in the pit, well-dried straw, sawdust, and burnt ashes are softly laid out, so it's very warm and comfortable.
Vikir closed his eyes for a moment while roasting a rat he had caught the night before.
<The rat 'Norvegicus'>
Hazard Class: F
Size: 50cm
Found in: all continents
– A mouse that has been stricken with demonic energy.
A adult Norvegicus has the intelligence and size of a small dog, so it is an object of disgust for women and girls.
After cleaning, it is surprisingly edible if you cook it well over a fire or boil it well in water.
When it comes to information about monsters, no matter how low they are, Vikir clearly memorized them all.
It was thanks to the monster encyclopedia that he had before returning.
Of course, Vikir wasn't the only one who memorized all the monster books in the world before returning.
In the Age of Destruction, everyone was a hunter.
'... ... But now I'm the only hunter alive.'
Maybe it's a situation closer to the hounds than the hunters.
But that would only make the hunter more miserable.
"What could be more ironic than a hunter who dies from being bitten on the neck by his dog?"
Suddenly, I recall the conversation I had with Hugo before returning.
This happened shortly before being executed.
'When you train a dog, you have to risk dying. Usually two out of three die. Do you think it's heartless?'
'no.'
'Of course not. Because the owner also trains with the preparedness to die from being bitten by a dog. Owners should always be trained. You never know when you'll die from being bitten by blind teeth.'
It was a fact that Hugo himself was aware of.
Maybe that's why Hugo didn't trust anyone in this world. Even himself.
"... ... ."
Vikir shook his head to clear his thoughts.
Then he took one of his peas from a sack hanging from his waist.
Blood Bean. Dark red bean with a huge coca concentration.
Vikir tossed a pea into the fire.
The stinky and other odors are removed from the plump fat rat meat, and replaced with the faint scent of coca.
'Cacao beans, especially bloody beans, are the best for removing odor!'
It was a recipe he learned from a late sergeant in the same platoon when he was drafted into the war against the demons.
"... ... Camping makes me think a lot about the past."
Vikir looked around him.
All the eyes that had been watching him were now gone.
Perhaps the guide dogs, who found his behavior uninteresting, moved elsewhere.
... If so, now is the time.
Vikir reached out to the pile of firewood.
Then he took out a dagger from his waistband and started cutting down trees.
wooden spear.
Vikir began planting these pointed wooden spears upside down all over the pit floor.
The tips trying to pierce the sky.
Dozens or hundreds of them are embedded in the bottom of the pit.
Like the lower jaw of a beast.
Even Vikir himself hadn't thought about what these teeth would bite into.
Outside the boundary between the Le Rogue Mountains, in the Forbidden Zone, there are monsters that are so big and powerful that people in this world couldn't even imagine.
... Well, most of them were familiar to Vikir who had passed through the age of destruction.
Vikir had cut all the wood that he needed.
But it wasn't enough to sharpen a wooden spear or toss it into a bonfire.
Vikir moved his body out of the pit to fetch the wood.
The gaze of the Guardian Knights had also disappeared, so now you can cross over to the forbidden land and cut down trees.
Before long, Vikir crossed the border with a stealthy spirit and entered the forbidden zone.
* * *
The sea of blackened trees is incredibly dense.
The stems and roots that grew into a huge labyrinth.
If you looked around the dark caves poking through the roots of trees that had been burned by the forest fire, you might doubt that they are passages leading to hell.
Any normal young hound of the Baskervilles would avoid this gloomy place, but Vikir rather walked in on his own feet.
'Let's see. I guess this was the rough habitat?'
Vikir wandered through the forest for a long time.
When he was an instructor or skirmisher, he roamed around this place as if he were eating, so his eyes were clear as if he was going in and out of his house.
yet.
Vikir found something.
Sizzle sizzle... ...
It's the sound of a ember burning in the ashes.
After following the smell of something burning, he finally found what he was looking for.
It was a pile of shit.
A fire that has not yet been extinguished burns in the blackened pile of dung.
As far as Vikir knews, there is only one monster that was like this.
He lifted his head and walked a little further through the trees, and before long he saw the owner of the dung.
A large body, sharp teeth and claws, and two eyes that glowed yellow.
<Hell Hound>
Grade: B+
Size: 3m
Discovery Location: Le Rogue Mountains Part 2 Ridge
-Aka 'the dog from hell'.
It is a being that unconditionally brings a terrible disaster to those it encounters, and if it is bitten once, it can never survive.
The brimstone fire spewing out from the eyes and mouth comes from the embers of the depths of the hell, and does not go out until the life used as fuel is completely burned away.
Even in the encyclopedia, there was not much information about this dangerous monster.
However, Vikir has faced quite a few monsters of this type through the age of destruction.
"Finally found you."
The reason he came to Le Rogue Mountain is to meet these guys.
Vikir turned quickly.
As soon as the Hellhound saw Vikir, it rushed at him.
kong! kong! kong!
The roar of a hound pursuing closely behind.
As soon as he got out of the way, he threw himself to the side of the hellhound ran past.
Chow ah-
Hellhound took several steps, unable to stop.
"As expected, you're an idiot who only knows how to go straight."
Most beings who have climbed up from hell can do nothing but go straight.
Even elite monsters like Hellhound show weakness.
Grrrrr... ...
The hellhound turned around and started pursuing him.
Vikir prepared the following pattern.
Chow ah-
Drinking water made by collecting two days of dew was sprayed and drew a long line on the floor.
... flinch!
Hellhound came to a sudden stop with the same momentum as it was running.
This hellhound species unusually did not cross water.
No matter how thin and shallow the water is.
Since it is a monster that is not good at anything other than running in a straight line, it is a hellhound had to run around water spots scattered on the ground.
It is a fact known to all hunters who have passed through the era of distruction, but it is a habit that is not well known in this world yet due to lack of research.
'Well, it will inevitably come to light later when the Pandemonium Gate opens and Hellhounds swarm all over the continent.'
Vikir faced the hellhound.
Although the speed of the Hellhound running had decreased, it is still terrifying.
Hey, the hellhound is a monster that even knights of expert intermediate level or higher have a hard time with 1:1.
Vikir before returning is also a monster so powerful that he was able to catch it alone only when he was 18 years old.
but.
Vikir did not come all this way without taking any measures.
"Canine monsters always open their mouths when running."
Like a seasoned hunter who has lived through the era of destruction, he brought out a secret weapon prepared for this situation.
The most effective weapon for catching canine monsters.
... fing!
The sound of beans hitting each other in his hands.
Bloody Beans.
It was chocolate.
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